Destiny: Skyfall -Unraveled Truth-
by Link234521
Summary: ARC I OF DESTINY: SKYFALL. Just when Year 2 was going to start smoothly, Oryx and his Taken arrive to the Solar System to exact revenge for his son's death, Crota. Fireteam Nero Bianco, the Tower's elite, is tasked with taking down the new threat to the system. But when Spectre's past haunts him, he needs to push through or let it consume him and reveal the terrible truth he hides.
1. I: The Taken War Begins

**Hey guys! Link234521 here with a new story (well, not completely new)! So, since I decided to have the Second Arc/Season II a part of the original _Destiny: Skyfall_ , I'm making the two arcs have separate stories for those that probably don't want to read an estimated 30-40 chapter story. Now, I wouldn't expect a lot of people to look at this and think that I'm just stupid or what not for making the two arcs separate, so yeah.**

 **So, let me go over this again: _this is_ only _for those who think reading two arcs in the same story is tedious and time-consuming_. However, if you don't care and are reading this for ****convenience** **, then be my guest. Besides, most of the overall content will be completely unchanged from the original story anyway. Enough blabbering from me, let's get this on the road already!**

 **Author's notice: I, in no shape or form, own the Next Generation MMO** _ **Destiny**_ **. The video game belongs to Bungie.**

* * *

You know what I hate about this right now?

Having a legion of pissed off Fallen and Hive Majors right on my tail. As soon as I see some cover, I dived over and huddled against it, loading out my shotgun and slamming the pump. I narrowly dodged a combination of a Shrapnel Launcher and a Hive Boomer, the Solar and Void fragments obscuring the right side of my helmet.

"Goddammit, I swear I'll kill him for this…" Taking a deep breath, I popped out of cover and started blasting the nearby majors with my Burden of Proof XI. Take cover when the knights and captains had their godforsaken weapons pointed at me, shoot at the Dregs and Acolytes, rinse and repeat. Did I mention I _hate_ Shrapnel Launchers and Hive Boomers? No? Well now you know. That was until I ran out of ammo. I crouched back and started to reload my shotgun, only to realize I ran out of Special Ammo. I cursed under my breath.

 _Rez, if you don't get the hell over here and help me, I swear I'll─_

The sudden sounds of a sniper and fusion rifle going off snapped me back to reality, followed by the sounds of ether hissing from Fallen heads and the crackling of the Hive disintegrating to dust. _Who the hell just─?_

"You asked for backup?" Standing before me was a Warlock and a Hunter, both armed with a Susanoo and Stillpiercer respectively. Ohohoho, how much I wanted to get back at the one who started all this. The Hunter had his hand out and instead, I gave him a left jab to the face. He staggered back in a comical fashion, later shaking his head and glaring at me under the Hive-like visor.

"What the hell was that for, Spectre?!"

" _That_ was for making _me_ the bait while you and Silver were trying to grab what we came for!" I yelled in his face, ready to pull out my New Monarchy shotgun and blast his face in. If you thought I ran out of ammo, I was lucky enough an ammo pack was on my side when the shooting stopped.

"All right you two, settle down, will you? You realize you two can settle this in the Crucible…again." Silver gave out a defeated sigh, know how well Rez and I are.

Oh, I forgot to give a proper introduction.

My name, as you already knew, is Spectre. As for my name, I have a good reason. Seeing as how most of my enemies can't see me coming a mile away, whether it's with my guns and/or my Raze-Lighter and Hammer of Sol, it's fair that I had a name to go with my reputation, despite being a Titan and going in guns blazing.

The idiot Hunter standing in front of me is Rez, a pretty sneaky bastard that almost gets away from everything. Quick on the trigger, but mostly sticks to the shadows like the Nightstalker he is. But once you give him a sniper rifle or any heavy-hitting weapon, you'd wish you'd die any other way than what Rez has in store for you. In fact, I don't even know how I even became friends with this guy. Oh wait: he scratched my back, and I scratched his. I got him the handcannon Thorn out of my own sanity, and he owes me a lot of Glimmer.

Silver, on the other hand, is pretty quiet like the Warlock he is. Although I don't get his deal with owls, especially with that helmet he's wearing and cracking his infamous 'Owl' jokes when the moment seemed right. He's just as smart as most Warlocks I've seen on the battlefront, but between the two of us, it's clear I was smarter since I took in a leadership like Commander Zavala. But out of Rez and Silver, it's the Warlock I'm most afraid of. Hell, I don't even know what to run from in the Crucible anymore: Silver's Bolt-Caster and Stormtrance or Rez's Arc Blade. Luckily, Silver doesn't get into the Crucible when Rez and I have one of our infamous 'fights over petty matters'. Either way, Arc damage doesn't like me. It doesn't like me, I hate it against me. Win-win right there.

"I will admit, Rez's plan was a bit…cheap. Seeing as the three of us had our swords ready, we could've taken a more direct approach."

"Hey! I'll let you know it was a good plan! I mean, the heavy hitter out of the three of us is Spectre, so it would be obvious that he'd deal with the majors!"

"Says the Hunter that has jacked up plans to date. If I had to pick between you and Cayde for a partner, I'd already turn to Cayde." I grumbled, wiping off the dirt and dust that settled on my helmet from the shrapnel launcher and hive boomer blasts.

As soon as I saw Rez pull out his Last Word on me, I immediately pointed my Burden of Proof XI at his face, finger on the trigger. Both of us grit our teeth under our helmets, fingers resting on our respective triggers. Friends we may be, but our dislike of each other puts us in mortal rivals. Soon enough, Silver steps in and pulls out his Hawkmoon, undoubtedly chambered with his Luck in the Chamber bullets ready to blast our heads off. Both of us knew how fast Silver can aim his weapons at multiple targets, and that includes us.

"…Crucible it is."

"Agreed, Rez." Both of us put our weapons down, as much as we wanted to just get it over it and get Silver to revive us after we blasted each other in the head. Either we shoot each other in the head or Silver shoots us in the head that hurts ten times as worse as my shotgun blast or Rez's Last Word with Aggressive Ballistics on.

My Ghost, which I had taken to name Primus, pops out of my pack on my side and hovers over my shoulder. "Primus, take us to orbit. We got the relic Banshee needed."

 **"Of course, Guardian."** The Ghost chirped and clicked, starting the timer to get us back into orbit. In the five seconds until we were sent to our ships, I watched as the sun began to set, followed by a blanket of…'snow', as my human ancestors called it covering the ruins of Old Russia. I remember what Primus said every once in a while when we were on patrol: 'The Cosmodrome; a rusting monument before the Collapse. Someday we'll restore this place…right?' Under my helmet, I smirked. Yeah, we'll restore our home. Even if it takes a damn long time to take it back from the Fallen and maybe the Hive.

 _ **-Destiny-**_

"Banshee, we got the relic you asked from us."

"...Have we met?" the old Gunsmith asked, the artificial eyes zooming in on me as I put the relic, a DVALIN-class fusion rifle, down on the table. Just how senile was this Exo? It was then that the Exo noticed the handcannon holstered on my hip just below my knife on my mark. "Wait, I know that gun... Built it myself. How were you even able to...?"

"Banshee."

"I remember. I was just messin' with you, Spectre. No need to be so uptight."

I shrug. "I'll never be able to tell whether he's actually losing his memories or if he's just playing a joke."

"Says the human clone of Commander Zavala." I hear Rez mutter behind my back, followed by the sound of a Force Push igniting and silence following suit. From the corner of my gaze, I saw both Rez and Silver splitting up, undoubtedly to meet up with their individual factions in the Crucible. After the Crumble of the Black Garden, the three of us went our separate ways, but we still stuck with our respective vanguards. Of course, I was with the New Monarchy as Rez and Silver were sided with Dead Orbit and Future War Cult respectively.

"How the gun comin' along, Spectre?"

"What, you mean Skyfall?" I pulled out the handcannon from my hip holster, inspecting the beauty and sleekness it gave. "I'd never doubt your craftiness with guns, both performance and design-wise, but this one really takes the cake. It's everything I'd ever ask for if I was able to craft guns myself. Although reloading the thing takes up precious time."

"You asked for a handcannon that can annihilate any Vandal, Knight and Legionary in one Precision shot with the range of a pulse rifle. That was the best I can do. Don't worry, if the gun starts acting up, just send it to me and I'll see what's wrong with it. On the house for helping me out with finding relic weaponry."

"Thanks, Banshee."

"Oh yeah, before I forget, there's another order here. Can't remember who it's for." The Exo hands me a package and through the window I can see a handcannon very similar to mine, but has a silver-gray finish and a different emblem engraved next to the chamber. Wait, I only ordered for Skyfall, so whose custom handcannon is this...?

"Hello Banshee." I hear a female's voice behind me, chipper and eager as ever despite the crisis we're in with the Taken. Turning my head, I saw a Hunter standing beside me, helmet still on but her hood on her cloak was down. Oddly, she also has a bow and arrow across her back. Based on her voice, she's gotta be human or Awoken. Dammit, the similarities between both species are too in sync with each other...

"Howdy, Guardian."

"Do you have my custom order today?"

"Which one was that again? Because right now there are a lot of orders right now, both Foundry and custom. Aside from Spectre's Foundry orders, you two are the first of the day to collect them." A human I may be, but I think that Banshee's actually telling the truth here. It's Arms Day after all. Then again, I can't tell if this Exo's just pulling another joke on us.

"How could I forget?"

"Maybe you forgot to register your claim for your order?" I suggested, the female Huntress turning towards me. Jackpot.

"Oh crap, I did!"

"What did your custom order look like?"

"It's a handcannon, and it has a silver-like finish, and looks like yours─" I hold out the package in front of her as though to shut her up before she gets too technical with guns. As much as I don't have much of a thing with the chatty type, I can tell a weapon fanatic a mile away before it gets out of hand. "Oh, thank you! I thought Banshee threw this out the window!" she tore open the package like it was nothing and pulled out her handcannon. I was right. Her custom weapon was built the same way as Skyfall, even sharing the same frame. However, the engraved text next to the emblem read out in fine, calligraphic print 'Starfall'. Coincidence much? Maybe.

"Don't go too gung-ho with this, you hear me? Last thing I need is a broken barrel beyond repair."

"Thanks a lot, Banshee! Sorry for putting you through making a custom gun." As though the two had some backstory, she pulled out her Glimmer storage unit and started putting fistfuls on the table. However, Banshee brushed the pile aside like he wasn't interested.

"I don't need this much Glimmer. Only thing that matters is that you keep this thing in working condition."

"But, I owe you a lot of Glimmer to make you build it!"

"I changed my mind. Besides, you'll probably need all that Glimmer to upgrade your gear."

She pouted and started recollecting the pile of Glimmer from the table, her Ghost appearing and putting them back into storage. As I was holstering Skyfall and started to take my leave, the Huntress stopped me.

"Hey, thanks!" I turned around, nodding in response. She stepped down from the stairs. "I'm Reaper." Huh, looks like I'm not the only one that has an odd name as a human. Well, aside from Rez.

"It's nice meeting you, Reaper. I'm─"

"Spectre. You're the leader of The Ancient Vanguard." She interrupts my introduction. Who am I kidding? _Every_ Guardian knows me and The Ancient Vanguard.

"Slayer of Atheon and Skolas, the Swarm Culler, even the Hive Conqueror."

"Now the Slayer of Crota."

"And what about you, miss Reaper?"

"I'm nothing special. Just a freelancer with a hot precision streak and a Fallen Conqueror," she crossed her arms, proving her standards. "I'm not sure if you heard of the 'Predator' from the other Hunters." Now that she mentioned it, Rez did talk about it once, during our Strike with Valus Ta'aurc. "Truth be told, the 'Predator' is me."

"I figured that bow and arrow isn't just for show, nor have I seen any other Hunters use one aside from the Nightstalker Super ability."

"Crafted it myself using a lot of the materials you'd find on Earth, the Moon, Venus and Mars. Plus some weapon parts and armor materials."

"Well, aren't you a crafty one?" I'll admit, never have I seen any Guardians try crafting their own weaponry since I was revived by Primus. I tried to make custom gauntlets after I first got to the Tower, but I failed. Only thing I'm good at is adding more Talent nodes to my weapons and armor...for now. "Still, it's pleasant meeting you."

"Likewise, Spectre." We shook hands and parted ways after we did our business with Banshee-44. As I went down the stairs to meet with Commander Zavala and the other vanguards after our mission on Phobos in the Hall of Guardians, I made a mental note to not forget Reaper. Her armor certainly made her live up to the title of Fallen Conqueror and Predator, but anyone can get that gear with enough marks. Yeah, call me skeptical, but I've seen plenty of Guardians claiming they were something great and fail to stand to their 'titles'. But that bow...something about it seems like something that most Guardians would like to use. Maybe one day I'll have her prove that she lives up to her title. Or I'll have a sparring match with her in the Crucible...

But first, debriefing the Vanguard on the situation with the Taken.

Then that Grudge Match with Rez.

* * *

 **Hope you guys enjoyed it! If you'd like more on this, just like, favorite, review and follow this and I'll supply! Supply and demand, readers!**

 **Note: When I mentioned Reaper was a 'freelancer', I envision freelancers as Guardians without a group or clan in-game. Also, the deal with Spectre and his handcannon Skyfall? Homage to James Bond's two recent movies,** ** _Spectre_** **and** ** _Skyfall_** **.**

 **Now, on with the appearance of my characters introduced:**

 **Spectre:**

 **Main Subclass: Sunbreaker (Talent Nodes used: Fusion Grenade, Increased Height (Lift), Suncharge (Hammer of Sol), Stoke the Forge (Sunstrike), Titan Codex III, Flameseeker, Titan Codex V, Cauterize)**

 **WEAPONS (In order of usage):**

 **Primary Weapon: Custom-made handcannon 'Skyfall' (Story exclusive, treated as an Exotic weapon), SUROS Regime (Self-alternates between Focused Fire and Spinning Up based on situation), SUROS ARI 41 & 45 (Both Focused Fire), Righteous VII (Same as SUROS ARIs), The First Curse**

 **Special Weapon: Burden of Proof XI (Modified stock variant from Executor Hideo with Full Auto and compatible with High Caliber Rounds and Elemental Transfusion from Susanoo, as well as increased reload time and range than stock Burden of Proof XI models) Immobius, Conviction II, Antinomy XVI, customized Ironwreath-D (Black and gray instead of tan and green and implemented Fan Fire from the Last Word; fires rounds that have a similar impact to handcannons), The Chaperone**

 **Heavy Weapon: 'Raze-Lighter' (not to be confused with the actual Raze-Lighter, this one was forged from materialized Solar energy without the jagged edges and shard of Willbreaker), SUROS JLB 47 & 42 (Both Cluster Bomb for crowd control), Objection IV**

 **Ghost Shell: Dread Explorer lookalike**

 **Helmet: Duskrender Type 0/Pandion Type 1 (with the Antigrav Thrusters perk from Empyrean Bellicose)**

 **Gauntlets: Pandion Type 0 (with the Accelerant perk from Immolation Fists)**

 **Chest: Duskrender/Pandion Type 0 (with the And Another Thing perk from the Armamentarium)**

 **Legs: Dunemarchers (with story-exclusive bonus Exotic perk 'Gravity Stabilizer', allowing Spectre to wallrun and slide farther than normal)**

 **Mark: Honor of Cormorant**

 **Artifact: Scales of Eao**

 **Shader: The Old Guard**

 **Bio: A determined and strong veteran since the Crumble of the Black Garden, Spectre was a member of the Fireteams that slayed Atheon, Skolas, and Crota and was there when he saw the coming invasion of the Taken. A human he may be, but he has already earned a worthy reputation as one of his Titan brethren (like Vell Tarlowe, Holborn, Lord Shaxx, Saint-14, and Wei Ning) and can be considered to be the next vanguard to succeed Commander Zavala. However, Spectre declined the offer to take Zavala's place as he views the leader of the Titan vanguard as his mentor, hence his similar well-executed strategies and tactics. Now, he proceeds to take on Oryx and save the Traveler from the Darkness with his friends Rez and Silver-79 as the leader of a group dedicated to train new Guardians freshly picked by their Ghosts known as The Ancient Vanguard and as Fireteam Nero Bianco (Italian for 'Black White'.)**

 **Rez:**

 **Main Subclass: Nightstalker (Talent Nodes used: Vortex Grenade, Triple Jump (Double Jump), Quiver (Shadowshot), Vanish in Smoke (Smoke), Path Unknown, Lockdown, Way of the Fearless, Shadestep)**

 **Primary Weapon: The Last Word, Ace of Spades, Häkke Judith-D and Gaheris-D (Both with Speed Reload, Triple Tap and Armor-Piercing Rounds)**

 **Special Weapon: Stillpiercer (With added Explosive, Skip, Armor-Piercing and High Caliber Rounds for multiple combat versatility), Telesto, The 4th Horseman**

 **Heavy Weapon: The Ash Factory (Variant with Tripod and Tracking perks), 'Dark-Drinker' (not the exotic version of Dark-Drinker, this one was forged from materialized Void energy, no shard of Willbreaker and is more sharper than the Exotic one was), SUROS JLB 42 & 47 (Same as Spectre's JLB launchers)**

 **Ghost Shell: Vanguard Shell**

 **Helmet: Aspriet 1.0**

 **Gauntlets: Neuroghast 1.0**

 **Chest: Aspriet 1.1**

 **Legs: Heliopause Boots**

 **Cloak: Solar Flayer Mantle**

 **Artifact: Dredgen Yor's Rose**

 **Shader: The Old Guard**

 **Bio: A friend of Spectre's since they took down Sepiks Prime, Rez is, like his friend, a human veteran since the Crumble of the Black Garden and the slayings of Atheon, Skolas and Crota. Despite his insanely stupid plans and laidback personality, he's no slouch on the trigger of a gun. With Spectre and Silver, he is a part of The Ancient Vanguard and acts as the 'Cayde-6' of the group. That is true, seeing as how easily Cayde and Rez are risktakers with dumb plans in the field in both vanguards. That and they are buddies.**

 **Silver:**

 **Main Subclass: Stormcaller (Talent Nodes used: Storm Grenade, Balanced Glide (Glide), Ionic Blink (Stormtrance), Rising Storm (Thunderstrike), Arcane Force, Feedback, Divine Order, Perpetual Charge)**

 **Primary Weapon: Tlaloc, Hawkmoon, Omolon Tuonela SR4 (Variant with Third Eye, Extended Mag and Rescue Mag)**

 **Special Weapon: Susanoo, Häkke Strongbow-D, Omolon Thesan FR4**

 **Heavy Weapon: 'Bolt-Caster' (Same as the above swords, forged from materialized Arc energy and has no shard of Willbreaker)**

 **Ghost Shell: Brave Shell**

 **Helmet: Haliaetus II**

 **Gauntlets: Haliaetus II**

 **Chest: Heart of the Praxic Fire (Praise the Sun Exotic perk replaced with Lightning Rod from The Impossible Machines)**

 **Legs: Haliaetus II**

 **Bond: Ebonthorn Bond**

 **Artifact: The Traitor's Die**

 **Shader: SUROS Minimalist**

 **Bio: A Warlock taking under Ikora and Toland's work, Silver-79 is an Exo dedicated to his studies like all Warlocks, but takes it seriously and sometimes cracks a joke. Unlike Rez, Spectre met Silver upon seeking knowledge on the exotic bounty A Light in the Dark, much to the Warlock's fear of the weapon's dark history. As a part of the fireteams with Spectre and Rez, Silver takes on a more logical route and points out flaws in Spectre's tactics, even claiming that Omolon's weaponry were 'sheer perfection' and more damaging than normal bullets used by the conventional weapons, but occasionally uses bullets. He is also one of the Warlocks to not go insane during their studies, especially with Toland's work. However, he is not a permanent member of The Ancient Vanguard, but rather an honorary member since he finds his studies more important than anything else. Well, his studies and his friends who he has to calm down before they get out of hand outside the Crucible.**

 **Reaper:**

 **Main Subclass: Bladedancer (Talent Nodes used: Flux Grenade, Blink (Double Jump), Vanish (Arc Blade), Escape Artist (Blinkstrike), Path Unknown, Shadowjack, Way of the Drifter, Stalker)**

 **Primary Weapon: Custom-made handcannon 'Starfall' (Story exclusive, treated as an Exotic weapon)**

 **Special Weapon: hand-built bow and arrow 'Night Predator' (Story exclusive, treated as a Legendary weapon), Häkke Tamar-D**

 **Heavy Weapon: 'Raze-Lighter' (same as Spectre's 'Raze-Lighter')**

 **Ghost Shell: Frontier Shell**

 **Helmet: Celestial Nighthawk (Big Game Exotic Perk replaced with a combination of Unstable Current from Mask of the Third Man and Sensor Pack from Knucklehead Radar)**

 **Gauntlets: Kallipolis Grips**

 **Chest: Crest of Alpha Lupi**

 **Legs: Kallipolis Boots**

 **Cloak: Strength of the Pack**

 **Artifact: The Pahanin Errata**

 **Shader: Superblack**

 **Bio: Like most of her Hunter brothers and sisters, Reaper was a lone wolf that survived in the wilderness and ruins of Earth and found her way to The City like all new Guardians. However, she spent most of her patrols perfecting the ways of the Hunter both old and new, from tracking her prey to surviving out in the wilderness. In a way, Reaper is as mysterious as the Exo Stranger, but has a known reputation for silently hunting her enemies using a bow and arrow that grants her similar abilities to the Nightstalker subclass, thus being known as the 'Predator' among the Hunters. She was also one of the many Hunters that hunted down the House of Wolves after they broke free from the Reef, but spent most of the time before and since the Crumble of the Black Garden working missions for the Cryptarchs and the Vanguard. Despite her lone wolf demeanor, she is somewhat forgetful and clumsy outside the battlefront. After The Ancient Vanguard gained its fame and reputation, Reaper views Spectre as an idol and someone she wanted to be.**


	2. II: Grudge Match

_**Chapter II: Grudge Match**_

* * *

 _Shores of Time, Venus_

As soon as I heard Lord Shaxx start announcing the match's participants the moment I transmatted on my side of the arena, I was ready for settling this with Rez. With the flagpole in hand, I stabbed it into the ground, and down came the Alpha team banner. Thankfully, Shaxx now allowed one-on-one matches to all Guardians. Well, enough of that. Time to vent out my anger on Rez for his incredibly stupid plan earlier. Damn moron, thinking he can make the leader/commander bait for the enemy to distract while having him and Silver take the artifact…

 _"Grudge Match. Eliminate and humiliate your rival!"_ I hear Shaxx's voice over the feed in my helmet, followed by the rules and modifiers' icons flashing on my screen. Chaff, Exposure and Trickle among three new modifiers. Great. With Chaff and Exposure, I can deal with, but Trickle? Screw that! That's a tactical Guardian's worst nightmare! And knowing Rez, he's using Trickle to his advantage. Goddamn bastard…

One of them was a crossbone using SUROS auto rifles instead of bones. I knew what this was: Locked Weapons. What that meant was that a certain weapon type was unavailable to use during the match while others were allowed. And for today's Grudge Match, Auto Rifles, Pulse Rifles, Fusion Rifles, Machine Guns and Rocket Launchers were banned for this match. Typical, seeing as Rez wanted a handcannon, shotgun, sniper rifle and sword fight.

The second modifier had a hand holding a handcannon. This one was known as 'Luck of the Draw'. What Luck of the Draw does is that in junction with Locked Weapons, the modifier forces us to use a specific weapon type for a specific amount of time before it resets, and shuffles to another available weapon type. Think of the modifier as a deck of cards, and one of those cards is your trump card. Or in this case, your favored weapon type.

Last one was known simply as 'Ammo Regenerator', which refills our ammo if we start to run low or fire off any number of rounds. The icon this time was the ammo crate normally found in the other Crucible matches. Looks like it's no ammo drops this time.

Right now, Luck of the Draw conducted itself and set out the weapons for the first minute. Handcannon. I know how easily Skyfall can snap off a Knight's head in one precision shot, but I shudder to imagine what it can do to a Guardian. Plus, Skyfall is the only handcannon in my inventory; all my other handcannons are in the vault, and the only other primary weapons I have on is my SUROS Regime, 41, and 45 auto rifles. Wish I brought First Curse with me… Heh, Skyfall might as well end up in a similar ban to Red Death anyway if I used this thing in the Crucible.

I sprinted from my spawn point, taking in my surroundings with the Vex architecture. During my time during patrols, I learned to mind my surroundings in case of any surprise attacks. Honestly, to me, Hunters are just the same as the Fallen. I mean, cloaks and knives? Tch, next thing you know, the Hive and Warlocks are the same as well as comparing us Titans with the Cabal. As soon as I was about to reach the center, I stopped sprinting and pulled out Skyfall, spinning it in a similar fashion as the Tex Mechanica handcannons. From behind my helmet, my eyes darted left to right, up and down, and all possible directions for any red lights. Knowing Rez, he's probably settled down and started to…

 _Boom!_

I ducked for cover, avoiding the explosive round and preventing my shields from being punctured by the explosion. Did I forget to mention that Luck of the Draw differs for the Guardians affected by it? I'm stuck with handcannons for the next minute, and Rez got his hands on snipers.

 _Boom!_

Another sniper shot, this time it was onto me, the evidence parts of the block I'm taking cover behind disintegrating. I summoned Primus and finetuned my Sunbreaker to deal with the explosive rounds, sacrificing my recovery for armor and agility. Knowing him, he's using Stillpiercer; never saw it leave his hands since he acquired it from Banshee. Thankfully I'm using my Pandion Type 0 that lessens Void damage. Now, how to get behind him without him noticing…

 _ **Rez's POV**_

Damn! I thought I got him that time! As soon as my scope didn't register a hit from my sniping nest, despite the explosion radius from the bullet, it was time to step it up. Ejecting my almost empty magazine filled with explosive rounds and unloading the bullet in the chamber, I reloaded Stillpiercer with skip rounds, slamming the puppies in and loading the first round. Thankfully, my helmet's 'third eye' served as a ballistics calculator for my skip rounds. As soon as I aimed the scope, a trajectory beam revealed itself. Aiming Stillpiercer a bit, the ricochet marker turned red. Bull's eye.

"Thought you could hide forever, Spectre?!" I called out, pulling the trigger. The ceramic-jacketed round bouncing off the wall I aimed at and into the corner Spectre was hiding. As soon as I heard a scream of pain, I grinned in triumph. My helmet flashed the First Blood medal, and I knew it was a confirmed kill. Boom, headshot!

"What now, Spectre?!" I laughed, savoring my triumph. That was until I saw a shadow making its way towards me. I stopped my display of the first kill and I looked through my scope. How the hell did he─?! A goddamn clone?! _Again?!_ How many times do I keep falling for that damn trick?!

Spectre was running towards my position, but something about his gauntlets was different. And I mean literally. It's still Pandion Type 0, but the plate on his left shoulder was missing. In fact, _the damn thing is now on his arm like a shield_ , larger than what it was before! He began using a Phalanx's tactic of hiding behind a shield and blindfiring at me with Skyfall as he began sprinting towards me. I evaded the bullets that were close to hitting me. Bad idea, buddy. I aimed Stillpiercer once more, the trajectory markers on and fired. The bullet ricocheted off the wall again, and I hoped this time the bullet landed the real deal. Wait, Trickle's on, so he wouldn't be able to use his tactical gear for a while, and that includes his decoys. Didn't think that one through, dude.

What I saw after pulling the trigger was a blur. Next thing I knew, I was shot in the head! "Son of a bitch!" I fell backfirst to the ground, staring up at the ceiling as my helmet flashed the typical 'Guardian Down' alert. What the hell killed me!? I checked the top right corner of the alert, and my jaw dropped.

It said 'misadventure' before it reassigned to 'Skip Round, Stillpiercer'. How did he cause the round to bounce off his shield?! More importantly, _just how_ was he able to move his shield fast enough to prevent the shot from behind and hit _me_!? Dammit, now all the Hunters are gonna know me as 'the Hunter who got killed by his own skip round'!

From my Ghost's view, I saw Spectre approach the Ghost, the shield still on his arm and knelt down. "Karma's a bitch, Rez. Haven't I told you that before?" he then proceeded to draw a line across his throat with his fingers, "it's your neck on the line. And don't think I'll go easy on you." He pointed Skyfall at my body and shot me point blank in the head, ensuring I was downed and respawn longer than normal.

 _"Ouch, that's gonna leave a mark!"_ I heard Shaxx's voice as soon as I respawned, and I can imagine the laughing faces of the Guardians watching the match. Grrrr, damn his tactical planning! Luck of the Draw shuffled, leaving me with my personal favorite, Handcannons. Whipping out The Last Word, I sprinted back to where Spectre killed me and found him standing there, shield at the ready and Raze-Lighter stabbed in the ground.

"Well…shit."

"You're right about this one, Rez." He pulled out his sword from the ground, resting the blunt edge on his shoulder. "We're buddies and all, but this time, I won't just forgive you easily. Because if it were up to me with that plan of yours, I'd have _you_ be the bait."

"C'mon man, it was just once you had to deal with a mob of Hive and Fallen Majors."

" _Once?!_ That's the _thirteenth_ time you made me distract a large group of Majors during the missions!" he roared, causing me to step back from his lion-like yell, "Enough talk Rez, get ready for 'kicking your ass from your commander 101'!"

He charged towards me and swung, but I was able to evade using Shadestep and fired with Last Word. Again, Spectre blocked my shots with his shield and swung where I stood. Again, Shadestep away from the searing heat of the sword and empty the last bullets in the Last Word until he blocked it. Thanks to my gauntlets, I was able to reload The Last Word fairly quickly, loading it before I─

 _Whump!_

I was kicked over from where I was reloading, rolling on the ground until I was close to the edge. I got back up, adjusting my balance since I was mere inches from falling into a Vex portal. As soon as I saw Spectre, he was next to a conjunctioning portal, arms crossed as if he knows…something I…

The sound of a small hiss reached my helmet, and I knew what was going on. "Oh, you sneaky little─"

 _Boom!_

 _ **Spectre's POV**_

What, did he think I snuck a fusion grenade on him? I'm not that cheap on using offensive grenades on other Guardians in the Crucible. Rez can't even tell the difference between a Solar fusion grenade and a tactical kinetic pull grenade. I heard his muffled 'Oh, you sneaky little─' groan before he was pulled into the portal. And right where I want him. As soon as I heard him coming through the gate next to me, I snatched him by the cloak and chucked him against the wall, leaving a crater in the wall. With him trying to get up, I whipped out my survival knife in my mark, tossing it before throwing it the same as a Gunslinger. The knife pinned his cloak against the wall, and Rez tried to pull it out from the wall to free himself. Yeah, good luck trying to get the knife out the wall, because you'll need a Titan's strength to get it out.

"Ugh, cheap shot, Spectre!"

"Now you're saying I'm cheap? Not really. It's called 'strategy', something you both lack and fail at. Because I'm not the one who uses skip rounds to hit a decoy and get killed by it." I turned away from the pinned down Hunter, walking away and leaving him there. My audio receptors in my helmet picked up a sound from Rez, and I turned, throwing him a 'surprise' present and dodging a barrage of high caliber rounds from the Last Word. Since my shield is still on my arm, I used it to defend myself from the incoming surprise.

"Oh you son of a bi─!"

"Checkmate."

 _Kaboom!_

From the slot in my shield, I saw his body being launched into the air and flying into a pole. What happens next, I don't think it's appropriate. You know what? Screw it, I'll put it in bluntly. He got hit in the junk as soon as he hit the top of the pole and I know that a lot of the spectators would empathize with him by grimacing in mock-pain, given he was hit where the sun doesn't shine.

" _Why won't you just kill me?!_ " I heard him call out from where he hit the pole after he whimpered painfully as he fell to the ground. Before he hit it, I kicked him in the face away from me, sending him into another wall and allowing the structure to collapse on him.

" _Good work Guardian, your Light is strong."_ I hear Shaxx's voice on the feed announce, as well as my HUD going haywire with the victory screen. Undoubtedly, I can imagine the many Guardians watching the match go wild with another victory of mine. My K/D ratio was two to one, and yes, the decoy counted as a death. My reward from the match was an Eyasluna and a legendary engram for my class armor. The handcannon transmatted into my free hand and raised it up for the spectators to see, firing a couple of victory rounds.

Knowing Rez, he'll cool down after this match…but not anytime soon considering the most humiliating death he had of having his own skip round hit him in a ricochet and getting hit in the junk by a pole. Meh, it's what he deserved for those thirteen times of using me as bait.

 _The Tower, Earth_

All the spectators watching Spectre and Rez's match were in a chaotic symphony of cheers and howls of laughter, both from Spectre's victory and earning Eyasluna to Rez's final death.

Among the spectators was Cayde, who clapped as soon as he saw the decisive victory. "And that's why Spectre and Rez's matches are better than most we see here, Zavala."

"I will admit, Cayde, Spectre is an honorable Titan amongst us. His tactics and efficiency proved vital to his combat. No matter the method, that is a Titan victory." The Awoken vanguard commented, arms behind his back as usual.

"Are you kidding me?! Your Titan used an incendiary grenade which _launched_ one of my boys into a pole and got hit in the junk! How is that 'honor'?!"

"Cayde, it's a Grudge Match. The rules are to _eliminate_ and _humiliate_ your rival. I will not consider the last kill as honorable by Titan standard, but most of what was done was what a true Titan utilizes."

"I suppose that last kill was deserving for your Hunter, Cayde. After all, he is basically you in Spectre's vanguard." The Warlock Vanguard pointed out, eyes still on her studies, but occasionally looking over at the match's results. Silver was next to her side, studying Toland's journal intently and proposing some of his theories on the areas Toland never completed.

"Yeah, that and Rez uses Spectre as bait during their Strikes. I mean, isn't that the whole point of the Titans, Zavala? Being walking tanks?"

"To some of us, that may be true. Remember, Cayde: there are two types of Titans. One is that they are walking tanks, and another is the wall against which the Darkness breaks."

"Not this speech again…" The Hunter Vanguard muttered under his breath, preparing for a lecture on the Titans. He looked over at Ikora and her Exo disciple, who were still indulged in Toland's journal. The Warlocks don't seem to mind the speech, and are still deep in their studies.

 _I gotta get out of this Tower._

* * *

In the Tower's Quarters, Reaper was in her individual quarters, settling down with a cup of coffee while she watched the match. Even though she felt sympathy for her fellow Hunter, it was really the Titan she rooted for. She was happy that Spectre taught Rez a lesson, since she was there when she saw Spectre get cornered by the Fallen and Hive Majors.

 **"Still getting over your meeting with your hero, Reaper?"** Her Ghost, known as Rex, joked, catching the Bladedancer off guard.

"I guess you can say that, Rex." She turned in her seat where she watched the match and took off her Celestial Nighthawk, facing the Ghost. She was definitely human, with silky shoulder-length brunette hair and gray eyes as well as a beautiful face to match. Hell, any Guardians who've seen her face would mistake her for a civilian than a Hunter.

 **"So you're interested in your Titan in shining armor?"**

Reaper flushed a deep red. "Why would I be curious about him? He's practically a Commander Zavala!"

 **"So what does meeting him in person and watching all of his matches since he came to the Crucible mean, hm?"**

"Meeting him in person was just a pure coincidence!"

 **"Suuuure it was."** Rex pointed out, her eye seemingly taunting the Huntress. **"Still doesn't explain why you watch his Crucible matches."**

"It's interesting to watch, little light."

 **"Don't do that."** Rex deadpanned, followed by the Ghost being pushed away. **"By the way, there are bounties up from the Cryptarchs and Xander. Think you're up for it?"**

Sighing, Reaper turned off the screen on her desk and stood up, stretching as she grabbed her Celestial Nighthawk and put it on. She glanced over on the table and found her new handcannon sitting there. She smiled under her exotic helmet, ready to test out this weapon from Banshee. She took Starfall off the table and spun the cylinder, holstering it on her hip and walked out the door, ready to get back into the wilderness of Earth.

Next stop for Reaper?

The Cosmodrome.


	3. III: Enter The Taken

_**Chapter III: Enter the Taken**_

* * *

 _The Tower, Hall of Guardians_

"My contacts near Saturn say the weapon only fired once."

"It's not like the Queen to attack a superior force."

The Vanguards looked over at the projection of the Dreadnaught that Fireteam Nero Bianco recovered from Phobos, discussing how to deal with this new threat to the Solar System. The room darkened to enhance the details of the Cabal hologram, and the appearance of the Hive ship brought a menacing ambience to the hall, even if it wasn't the real deal. When they saw the Hive Tombships during their times before they were roped into their positions today, they were just the same as the new Guardians. Now, this new Hive ship sent chills down their spine.

"Now could she have known? How could anyone?" Ikora added, standing on her side of the table while Cayde and Zavala stood on the opposite side. Soon enough, the Vanguards heard the sounds of armored boots and turned towards the entrance. Spectre, with Primus hovering over his shoulder, came walking towards the three, stopping at the far end of the table and saluting his Vanguard.

"Sir."

"Spectre, it's good to see you alive." Zavala dismissed Spectre from his salute, a faint smile on his stern face to know his 'second-in-command' made it out of Phobos with his team.

"Hey, look who's back!" Cayde crossed his arms.

"Here, I trust you may remove your helmet. You are an honorary member of our vanguard since you represent and lead your own vanguard." Ikora requested, seeing as a ground rule for the vanguards here in the Hall are required to remove their helmets.

Nodding, the Vanguard representing both the Ancient Vanguard and their leader reached for the side of his helmet and tapped the lock. Streams of air hissed out the sides of the Duskrender helmet, followed by some clicking that loosened the helmet's grip on Spectre's head. Spectre put his hands on the front and back of his Type 0 helmet, fingers in the spaces between his neck and helmet and pried both sides open gently, allowing him to let him take it off.

The Vanguards watched as strands of dirty blonde hair tumbled out of the helmet, followed by a youthful face of someone in their early twenties. However, it was ruined by a faint scar running from his right cheek to the corner of his lip, resembling one half of a Cheshire grin. The result of a Fallen blade piercing through his helmet's visor early in his career as a Guardian. His right eye was covered by the strands of hair that tumbled out and found their way back to place, as the free eye revealed steel blue-gray eyes. The Vanguard for the Ancient Vanguard set his Duskrender helmet down on the table.

"Spectre, during your encounter on Phobos, were you able to acquire information on these 'Taken'?" Zavala inquired.

 **"We did, Zavala. So far, based on what we saw and found, the Cabal's numbers were dwindling while the Taken's were rising at a rapid rate."** Primus clicked and whirred, his shell opening as he spoke. **"Skyburners, Dust Burners, and the Blind Legion were losing about half of their troops to the Taken."**

"But it's not just Cabal. I saw Hive in the mix: Acolytes, Knights, even Wizards and Thrall. Oddest thing about the Centurions and Wizards were their shields, they're Arc and Void damage now."

Taking in the information from both Spectre and Primus, the Warlock Vanguard turned to Zavala. "We need a Warlock inside the Dreadnaught."

Cayde rolled his artificial eyes, knowing exactly what's coming. "Here we go…" He glanced over at Spectre and smiled, seeing as the leader of the Ancient Vanguard simply face palmed with the same notion that Cayde had. Even though Cayde was a Hunter and Spectre was a Titan, they both hated the fact that when the Human female and Awoken male start to argue, they wish they weren't in the Hall.

"Our first priority must be to protect the City. Spectre and his team got a good look at Phobos. Whatever it was, it turned Cabal against Cabal, wiped their base out in minutes. How long would _we_ last?" Zavala argued, jabbing a finger on the table as Ikora turned her back on him, thinking about the situation.

"Until we understand what we're dealing with—"

"As much as we're both trying to find out what the hell we're dealing with and defending the City are high priority, maybe we should all consider—" Spectre counter-objected.

The four heard a sound from the entrance to the Hall and watched a green orb race across the table and into the Cabal projector, removing both the Dreadnaught's hologram and the red glow and replacing the room with a sinister green glow. They turned their heads and found Eris Morn standing hunched over next to the steps, hands still in their 'orb-holding' position. Never before had they allowed Eris in the Hall of Guardians, despite her involvement in the slaying of Crota. Now, something during the mission on Phobos brought her in here.

"They are Taken."

"Not another 'vague oracle' monologue again." Spectre muttered, earning a Hive-like death glare from the corrupted Awoken. "…I take that back."

"Eris… Get your rock off my map."

"It hasn't spoken since Crota fell," the sole survivor of an attack on Crota started, hand extended towards the Hive shard as though it was sacred. "It speaks now because Oryx is here. Come to fulfill the final covenant of his son."

"Oh great. Just what I needed. Another Crota to fight."

"But, why fight the Cabal?"

Eris turned towards the Warlock Vanguard. "Not fighting. Taking. Controlling their will." The green glow from the shard was removed, and Eris turned to see Cayde remove the orb from the projector, allowing the Dreadnaught and red glow to return. To both the humans and Awoken in the room, the only Exo was remotely unfazed by Eris's three-eyed gaze.

"So we focus on his army, kill these Taken until he's all that's left." Zavala suggested as the Hunter Vanguard began to inspect the shard Eris threw into the hologram.

"Whatever you kill, Oryx will replace."

"And I assume this isn't just talking about the Taken Psions duplicating themselves." Spectre deadpanned.

"The Dreadnaught, then. How do we get past that weapon?"

"Without ending up like the Awoken." Zavala included, and the five fell to silence. Spectre crossed his arms and tapped his armored boot against the floor, thinking of possible ways to get through.

As soon as the entire room fell to silence, Cayde looked up. "I gotta go…see about a ship." He tossed the orb-encased shard at Eris like a tennis ball before walking away from the table, and she caught it before it actually hit her hand.

"Cayde, our discussion has not yet concluded."

"Oh, I know. That's why I'm leaving." And just like that, he left the Hall, leaving his fellow Vanguards and Eris behind to ponder on the situation.

Spectre, on the other hand, was analyzing the intel Primus acquired during his fireteam's mission. Even if the Cabal was his enemy, they didn't deserve what fate befell most of them. _Dammit, I need Silver to help out on these things. Analysis on biological matter like that goo in the base isn't my strong type. Wish I brought a sample for him to analyze, but who knows what it can do to Guardians…_ Compared to the enemies he's faced before, the Taken has to be hell now, especially with the Taken Phalanxs.

"Primus, what do you think that goo is; membrane or symbiote?"

 **"Spectre, I'll be quite honest with you, it appeared to be both. While it isn't as sentient as you or I, but it's like a mindless drone sent to take whatever it can to Oryx. I mean, look at the Taken: all they did was go after you mindlessly shooting. No form of intelligence left on the host. I don't know about you, but I feel that the goo is part membrane, part symbiote, and part parasite."**

"Think we should bring Silver to study what we discovered? _Without_ having him actually look at the stuff?"

 **"Let's hope he didn't sneak in a sample of that goo while we weren't looking."** Spectre stopped looking at the data and looked at his Ghost. **"…Did I say something?"**

"…Shit." He grabbed Duskrender from the table and slapped it on, closing both front and back to secure it to his neck armor. He ran out the Hall and for the quarters, confusing the Vanguards and Eris.

 _ **Spectre's POV**_

Dammit Silver, what were you thinking?! I know you're a Warlock and all, but are you this _stupid_?! Especially with a threat we don't even know about?! As I sprinted back to my fireteam's quarters, running past some Guardians and knocking some out of my way (unintentionally, of course), my mind was running on what would happen if that stuff corrupted Silver. My heart raced with fear, and I don't want him to suffer the same as the Cabal did. He's a vital part of the team!

I reached our quarters and started pounding my fist on the door. "Silver?! Silver!" I called out, hoping I wasn't too late.

Nothing. I reached for the knob and started twisting it. Locked. Hey, don't ask me why the doors are much like the Pre-Golden Age ones and not sliding doors. "Silver, open up!" I pounded my fist against the metal door again, this time more violent. " _Silver!_ " when banging on the door didn't work, I started to ram into it, but it had no effect seeing as the metal was really resilient to most impacts.

No response once, you're playing a prank on me.

No response twice, you're starting to piss me off.

No response three times, that's it, time's up. Nope. No more chances. Strike three, you're through. I'm coming in there. I CAN'T TAKE IGNORANCE ANYMORE!

Replacing Sunbreaker with my Striker subclass, I had Primus instantly charge my Storm Fist and instantly I felt the Arc energy envelop my fist. Send me the bill for this next part. At least I'll have an excuse for property damage: 'saving my Fireteam member/best friend from an unknown membrane/symbiote/parasitic goo that he snuck in to study of a threat we know little of'. Yeah, that'll work.

 _SCRUUUNNNCH!_

I buried my Storm Fist into the door, puncturing through the metal like it was a very thin sheet of Plasteel and reaching for the knob on the other side. I tore it off and ripped the door off the hinges, followed by my other hand ripping it in half. I know that Guardians in the hallway would notice what I'm doing, but one of the Guardians living in the quarters on this floor saw what I was doing─and possibly what's going on. It was 20/20 from Fireteam Dragon, an Exo Titan that knows a lot of medical attention.

"Silver!" I saw him lying on the floor, body twitching like the robot he technically is and sparks flying from his chest. Among the Exo on the floor, the quarters was a complete mess. It looked as though he was struggling with some enemy. Or something. I knelt down and began to inspect him, noting a pale-blue substance on his chest armor. Wait, this is…

"What the hell is that stuff?!" I heard the Exo medic point out behind me.

"WHOA!" The substance came to life and jumped onto my visor, blinding me and preventing me from seeing. I clawed at my helmet, but the goo just kept slipping through my gloves. It became even worse when the stuff began to leak into my helmet's visor, forcing me to hit the emergency release on Duskrender. The helmet's locks released and swung the back of the helm up, allowing me to throw my head back and escape from it. Quickly, I closed the helmet and had the helmet's neck region close, erecting a containment sphere around the contaminated helmet and trapping the damned thing in it. Scrambling to my feet, I watched as the sentient goo try to free itself from its containment sphere, but to no avail. My heart races and cold sweat beaded my forehead from the blur of events.

"20, help Silver out!" I barked, and immediately the Exo knelt down to help his fellow machine. Primus appeared from my pack, "Primus, get Zavala on the line and tell him we have a problem!"

 **"Already on it!"** he frantically whirs, sending off an alert to my Vanguard to let him know what's going on. C'mon Silver, don't become Taken on me!

"Spectre, get over here and help me hold him down!" 20/20 calls my attention, and I knelt down across from him. I started to restrain his twitching, using my control cuffs on him to stop him from further movement, "Whatever that stuff was, it tampered with his core functions and combat coding! I'm gonna have to force reboot his core, but I need you to supply enough Arc energy to jumpstart him after the reboot!"

I watched as the Exo started to stabilize the flying sparks from Silver's chest using what I can assume to be Exo repair/'medical' tools, keeping them down as 20/20 opened a plate on his head. Most Exos I've known, 20/20 included, has their reboot button in their chests, but can be rebooted by a device they keep with them. However, Silver was one of the older Exos, and therefore didn't carry the device to remotely reboot. His model dates back about a hundred years after the Golden Age, where Exos' reboot buttons were behind a plate in their heads.

He hit the reboot button, and the blue light that made up Silver's artificial eyes faded out, followed by the voice box's signature glow.

"Spectre, we only got a minute before he shuts down for good, so jumpstart him already!" again, Primus recharged my Storm Fist, my hands practically pulsating with Arc energy. I tightened my hands into a fist, and I was close to using my hands as a makeshift defibrillator until the Exo Titan stopped me. "Are you insane?! That much Arc energy will fry his circuits for good!"

"Then how much should I use?!"

"Three gigavolts of Arc energy! That's how much an Exo model like Silver needs to reboot!" my Ghost began to adjust the amount of Arc energy in my hands into the amount 20/20 said. As soon as that was over, I placed my palms on his chest.

"Clear!" I dispersed the energy, and I heard the faint sound of electricity powering up a machine in my ears. I looked down. No blue glow from eyes or voice box. Silver laid there much like a statue. "C'mon, c'mon!"

I had Primus recharge Storm Fist again, but this time I winced painfully. Never before had I used Primus to help me instantly recharge my melee attacks, and I knew the risk was coming to me. The faster I recharge my melee ability one after the other, the weaker I become.

"Clear!" Instead of repeating the last attempt, I pounded on his chest with the Arc energy just like when I'd use Fist of Havoc. The sound became louder this time, but still no glow or movement. "That's it! I'm raising the energy to three and a half gigavolts!"

 **"Spectre, you can't! You'll strain yourself!"**

"Your Ghost has a point, Spectre. If you're gonna insta-charge for the fourth time, you'll surely wipe out!"

I ignore both 20/20 and Primus's pleas to not let me insta-charge again and I did, charging up for what has to be my last attempt to revive him. My eyesight began to blur, and I felt sluggish. But I have to pull through for Silver's sake. Raising my fists over my head, I pounded on his chest once more. Please work…!

The sound of robotic coughs filled the quarters and I looked down. Silver's blue artificial eyes and voice box glow returned, and he sat up right after the nine and a half gigavolts of Arc shocks. He realized that his reboot's cover was open and closed it himself, followed by clutching his head as though he had an Exo's equivalent of a headache.

"Ugh…what happened?"

"That goo happened, that's what." I pointed towards my contaminated Duskrender helmet for Silver to see. "Because you _had_ to get a sample of that stuff, you owe me a new Duskrender to replace my contaminated one. Helmet or 120 Marks. Your pick."

"Spectre, we need to know what we're up against. We need to have some form of─"

"I don't want to hear it, Silver. Ever heard of 'curiosity killed the cat'?" I asked, and he exhaled through his synthetic nostrils defeatingly. "By the Traveler, you're just like Ikora. Because if I didn't realize that you collected a sample to analyze on your own, you'd already go on a rampage on the Tower and start spreading the Taken membrane to all of us."

"'Taken'?"

"Long story." I looked over to 20/20, who began analyzing his fellow Exo with another Exo gadget. "20, see if you can patch up Silver's combat coding."

"Already got it covered. He can't fight until I patch it up, but he can continue with his normal functions with some synchronization. What are you going to do now, Spectre?"

I had Primus summon one of my spare helmets, a Pandion Type 1 to replace Duskrender and put it on. It doesn't feel as comfortable as Duskrender, but this has to do until Silver gets me another Duskrender or the Legendary Marks to cover it. Because knowing that stuff on Duskrender, it already won't leave and will get me if I put it on. Believe me, I'm watching it settle into my favorite helmet and I swore it 'hissed' at me, claiming it to be its and its alone. That's…creepy.

"I have a Grudge Match to settle."


	4. IV: Challenged by a Reaper

_**Chapter IV: Challenged by a Reaper**_

* * *

Just when things couldn't get any worse at all, it just did.

Right now, Rez is being a prick since his ridiculous humiliation during the Grudge Match (which I don't regret causing at all) last week, and Silver's still recovering from that Taken goo incident. 20/20 said that his recovery is 30% done, and he should be back in the field faster than the projected timeframe if he gets some materials to further boost the machine he has hooked on. Oh, and he got me a new Duskrender Type 0 to replace the old one, thanks to a favor he owes from Zavala. Oh, and guess who has to go out and get the items 20/20 needs? Me.

Right now, I'm in the Cosmodrome on Patrol, working my way to get more Rep for NM and the Vanguard. That and I'm also low on Spinmetal in my inventory right now. I armed myself with my SUROS ARI 45, Immobius, and my Raze-Lighter. I have Skyfall with me of course. And so far, collecting them was a pain in the ass. 20 said to get them in _pristine_ condition, so that meant no ruptures or leaks. How the hell was I supposed to know that?!

"Primus, what do we need now?"

My Ghost popped out of my pack, clicking and whirring as he recalls what 20 needs for that machine. **"According to 20/20, he needs some Ether Sups, Wire Wraps and Induction Rods. Honestly, I don't know why he needs Induction─ oh. Turns out the Induction Rods are for a personal project. We need Ether Sups and Wire Wraps."**

"Knowing him, he probably needs those Induction Rods for Amanda."

 **"Seriously, that Fireteam 20's in is reckless beyond any of the ones I've seen. I mean, flying over an AA emplacement and having to pay 25000 Glimmer each for a new ship?"**

"I've seen worse, Primus. I mean, Fireteam Warden had damaged their ships beyond repair and they had to pay at least 75000 Glimmer. Last I heard of them, they all had broken bones and smashed-in noses because by the time they brought their ships back to the Tower, they had bullet holes all over it, smoke coming from the thrusters and demolished fins."

 **"Yikes. Remind us to never to anything stupid with our Sparrows and Ships."** I agreed with him, seeing as we're mostly careful with our transports…most of the time. Thank Rez for those times we didn't, not me or Silver.

I found myself in the Rocketyards, seeing Hive and Fallen go at each other's throats like they were the only two species on the planet trying to gain territory. And that's a thing. Ever since my Fireteam and I took down Crota, the Hive were trying to take Earth for him. How noble for a dead God. If Crota left a will to his armies to take the Earth after his death, it's time to give them a wakeup call. Earth belongs to us Guardians, not the Fallen, and not the Hive.

I need those Ether Sups and Wire Wraps, and the Fallen are my only source. Enemy of my enemy. Whipping out Immobius, I slammed the pump. I know it's typical for Titans to utilize shotguns as a last resort, but I really don't give a damn whether or not I use them all the time or as a last resort. Hell, you saw me using Burden of Proof XI during a stakeout.

I started running and as soon as the Hive and Fallen notice me, their faces were all blown off with a single blast. I kept that up until it ran out of ammo, to which I threw it down into the snow and whipped out Skyfall while dodging a Shock Blade and shot from a Hive Boomer at the same time. I crouched on a knee as soon as I hit the ground, watching as time around me came to a slowing halt. To me, they were all frozen in place, allowing me to aim at their heads and pull the trigger.

Time returned to normal, and all the Hive and Fallen in the area fell dead like they all suffered a simultaneous heart attack─or the Hive and Fallen equivalents of it. While the Hive disintegrated to dust, the Fallen reached for where their heads once were before and fell dead.

I picked up Immobius from the snow and slung it across my back, proceeding to collecting the Wire Wraps and Ether Sups from their corpses. While I was at it, I picked up any intact Induction Rods from the Vandals. As much as it's technically 20/20's Fireteam's fault for causing Amanda trouble, I figured I owe him for helping me with Silver. He's going out of his way to help a fellow Exo of his and working with some of the factions to find a way to deal with the goo. Hopefully, Silver can stay away from the stuff and let the others handle it. Bah, who am I kidding? _Of course_ he'll be involved one way or another.

Just as soon as I finished inspecting an Induction Rod, which was in pristine order, I put it in my pack. I heard the sound of a Fallen Vandal ready to attack with their Shock Blades. I turned around, shield from my left shoulder sliding down to my arm and enlarging to block it. I braced for the blade bouncing off my shield.

Instead, I heard a death rattle from the Vandal, plus the blade bouncing off the shield not happening. The shield shrunk back and returned to its normal place, and I turned to the direction of the sound. The Vandal was clawing at its neck, struggling to get whatever pinned it against the wall off. It failed to get it out, and it died there pinned to the wall.

"What the hell…?" I came closer to the Vandal's corpse, checking out what pinned it against the wall. I found it, and I yanked it out, freeing the Fallen with it. "Primus, is this what I think it is?"

 **"You're not wrong on that degree. Because it** _ **is**_ **what you think it is."**

The thing I pulled out of its neck was an arrow. With an Arc energy-powered, poisoned tip. The tip seemed out to be out of energy, so I put my hand over it like it was a candle. The electric feeling of Arc energy was still here, and it looks like it won't die out anytime soon. The Fallen corpse began to move, but I made sure it stayed down with a precision shot to the head.

"I thought you were always careful, Spectre." I turned around and found Reaper standing behind me, bow across her shoulders and arms crossed. "If I didn't know you were on item collecting missions, you'd already be struck from behind by a Shock Blade."

"It's nice to see you too, Reaper." I put Skyfall back into its holster and looked at the Huntress. "I take it this isn't a coincidence this time."

"It's not. What're you planning to do with all those Ether Sups and Wire Wraps?"

"Something I need to get back to 20/20." I clarified, Primus popping out of my pack and helping take the supplies off my hands.

"Oh yeah, I heard what happened to Silver. That's pretty traumatic."

"Hopefully, he learnt his lesson on not taking unknown substances we don't even remotely understand."

 **"If you ask me, that's how all Warlocks are. I mean, look at Toland. His studies got him into knee-deep trouble and never made it out alive."** I heard a Ghost's voice speak, and I knew that wasn't Primus's. What I assumed to be Reaper's Ghost appeared over her shoulder, a Frontier Shell as its frame.

 **"So, this is her Ghost. Pretty sure I heard something different."**

 **"You're not wrong about it,"** her Ghost deadpanned, and it was now that Primus and I are dumbstruck. **"I'm Rex, Reaper's Ghost."**

"Well, that's the first I've heard of it. I thought all Ghosts had a male voice."

 **"You wanna say that again, Titan?"** growled Rex, her shell angrily splitting apart and whirring as it hovered towards my helmet. **"Just because most of the Ghosts you see have a male voice doesn't mean there aren't female ones!"** As if I was intimidated by a Ghost. I pushed her away from my face.

"Calm down… Little Light." Reaper sighed, and her Ghost turned to her.

 **"Don't. Do. That!"** If Rex had something going on, I'd already see smoke pouring out of her shell like crazy. Heh, I remember when I said the same thing to Primus. Although he just went with it, but I'd imagine Rex has a short temper.

"So why are you here, Reaper?" I brought the two out of their one-sided bickering and had Reaper look at me.

"I'm here doing bounties for the Cryptarchs and Xander. Other than that, I'm bored of sticking around in the Tower waiting for the next crisis to happen."

"Isn't that everyone? I'm out here because Rez is being an ass and I need to help 20/20 with the machine that can get Silver back to the front lines."

"Welcome to being a lone wolf."

"…For the day." I finished, missing─and loathing─the days I went out solo. But right now, I have to deal with it since it's the way things are right now. "And I suppose you don't need anyone covering your six, am I right?"

 **"Spectre, you wouldn't even dare think of it!"** Primus teased me, nudging my armored shoulder.

"Quiet, you." I growled, turning my head to his direction but my eyes were still on the Hunter.

"I know you're curious about me, Spectre." As soon as I heard her say that, I was shocked. How did she?! "I know how skeptical you are with Guardians with titles they claim to be, and I'd know you're skeptical about mine."

"You caught me in the act," I shrug in a surrendering style, "Well then, why don't you prove it? If you really can hunt the Fallen without being seen?"

The next thing I know, Reaper's gone and already advancing on a group of Vandals, Hunter's knife at the ready and bow slung across her shoulders. She stands behind one of them and stabs them in the neck then snaps it to the side. She then threw her knife and decapitated another Vandal, yet they didn't see it and draws out a spare along with her handcannon Starfall. Soon enough, she grapples a third and has it at knife point and Starfall behind its head. While I watched, I crossed my arms. I have a feeling she'll screw up somewhere.

But she didn't.

She slit the Vandal's throat and aimed Starfall at the last one, pulling the trigger and throwing the knife. Both the bullet and knife struck their target, an explosion of mist from the Fallen's respirator for a few seconds before its corpse fell to the ground.

If I wasn't wearing my helmet, she'd see my jaw hanging. And if Primus was human, he'd act the same way. "…Damn. Remind me to never judge anyone before seeing their capabilities in combat."

 **"Agreed, Spectre."**

"Will that suffice for my title?" she Blinked in front of me, handcannon holstered and tossing one of her knives like Petra with a hand on her hip. "Because if it won't, I'll show you what it's like to fight me in a Grudge Match."

 **"She's making a move on you! She's making a move on you!"** I heard Primus whisper into my helmet's audio receptor, not sure if it was a warning or a joking tone. **"What are you waiting for?! Say something!"**

"Do me a favor and go back where you belong _right now_!" Primus inched away from me and vanished back into his spot, followed by me face palming at him trying to get me a girlfriend. Since when do Ghosts know anything about love?

Knowing us, I have a feeling that our meetings will be more frequent, but unexpected like the Exo Stranger.

"I might do just that." Wait, what the hell did I just say!?

"Great." She begins to walk away from the center of the Rocketyards, but stops after a few steps and turns around. She tosses me something and I caught it. "I'll contact you when I want to have the match. Until then, ciao!" She left─correction, _vanished_ ─from the area, leaving me and Primus alone. I look down on what she threw at me. They were Induction Rods. And in perfect condition despite how she took them down. Guess I owe her.

 **"Wow, shooting down every opportunity you have to get a girl. Real professional of you, Spectre."**

"Primus, just shut up." I walked away from the Rocketyards, Primus over my shoulder like normal and irritating the hell out of me on this topic. One I've went over _again and again_ that I don't want to talk about. "Since when were you so fixated on getting me hooked up with someone?"

 **"Face it, Spectre: you've been a lone wolf before and you're kind of still are now. You'd think that by getting all that fame, you'd get a girlfriend."**

"I don't have time for it. Plus she might be another female Guardian who wants me to be their boyfriend and brag about it. I don't roll that way."

 **"So you're considering it."** Seriously, this is getting annoying really quick. Under my helmet, I'm practically grinding my teeth.

"Primus, just shut up. Right. Now."

 **"Don't lie to me, Spectre."**

"Primus."

 **"Why you always lying?"**

"Little Light."

 **"…Fine, I'll shut up right now."**

 ** _-Destiny-_**

After I got back to the Tower from the Cosmodrome, which was crowded with Guardians new and old as usual, I decided to find 20/20 in his usual spot at his workshop─a glorified workspace he set up in the hangar. And what do I find? Him working on machines and tinkering with calculations on how to counteract the parasitic membrane. He was too deep in his work that he just shuts out what's outside his workshop boundaries.

"20." I called, standing right before the table he's working his machines on. No response. "20." I said louder, but he's still working on the calculations and alternating to the machines. Okay, remember when I had the 'three strikes' thing going on? The 'No response once, you're playing a prank on me. No response twice, you're starting to piss me off. No response three times, that's it, time's up. Nope. No more chances.' thing? Yep, he's done it this time.

"20!" I slammed a fist on the table the same time I called out his name, snapping him out of his focused trance. Yeah, I think that worked.

"Can't you see I'm─!" As soon as he removes his goggles, he stopped himself before yelling in my face. "Oh. It's you."

"I got the supplies you need for Silver." I had Primus lay out the Wire Wraps and Ether Sups in front of him. "Oh, and I got you some Induction Rods for your 'personal project'." I laid out the rods next to the Wire Wraps carefully like they were miniature nuclear bombs, and 20/20 just takes the materials carefully.

"Thanks a lot for the help, Spectre. I know I could've had the other members of my Fireteam do the work, but they're being pricks at the moment thanks to Amanda."

"Anything on how to counteract the membrane?"

He laid back on the chair, artificial optics focused on me as he looked at his screen and folding his arms. "I'll be honest with you here, this stuff is something I've never seen before. However, I might be on to something, thanks to help from Silver."

Why am I not surprised that he helped out 20/20?

"Go on."

"Whatever this stuff is, making sure it doesn't get on you requires a lot more resilient materials for armor. Plasteel, Sapphire Wire, Relic Iron, Spinmetal and Hadronic Essence won't cut it this time around. Once that stuff touches any of those materials, they'll start eating away at it."

"Just what I needed: an armor-eating, parasitic membrane that can turn its victims into Taken."

"Well, the membrane doesn't technically eat away the armor: it just passes through without any difficulty much like acid." 20 clarified. "However, I'm working with some of the Warlocks and Hunters to see if we can make '2.0' materials that won't be affected by the goo."

"Great. Keep me updated."

"By the way, Cayde's looking for you." 20 called out as I left the workshop, and I waved in acknowledgement. What does Cayde need me for this time? As soon as I got out of the hangar, I made my way to the Hall of Guardians, seeing Cayde, Ikora, and Zavala at their normal routine. Thankfully this time, I modified my new Duskrender to be a part of my chestplate. As soon as I stepped in, my helmet began to open and retreat to my neck armor, freeing my head from the helmet while I'm here.

I walked over to Cayde's side of the table, and immediately he notices me. "There's the Guardian I'm looking for!"

"This better be important, Cayde. Honestly, I don't have time to fool around."

"Yeesh, uptight like Zavala," the Hunter Vanguard made an Exo's equivalent of someone clicking their tongue. Why do I get the feeling that this is another one of his 'bad ideas that work'? "Look, only way to stop the Taken is to get you and your team on that Dreadnaught…as soon as Rez gets back on his feet and Silver has his combat coding restored. I've got a plan, but we'll need some specialized kinda gear."

Noting that Ikora and Zavala could be listening in, I lowered my voice. "What exactly are we looking at?"

"Lucky for you and me, I spent years prepping for…special circumstances. We need a stealth drive. I got one hidden in the─"

"Cayde? What are you whispering?" Dammit, Ikora's onto us! The Warlock Vanguard looked at the two of us, the Warlocks' signature curious glint in their eyes.

Cayde started chuckling like nothing was wrong. "Nothing! Nothing…!" he turned to me, whispering in a low voice quiet enough for Ikora to not listen into and also loud enough for me to hear. "I'll contact you in the Cosmodrome."

Oh great. Back to the Cosmodrome?

This is gonna be one of those days, isn't it?

* * *

 **Okay, we're done with chapter IV! So yeah, if you guys are curious and want to find out what the whole thing I'm working on is all about, just leave a review if you want me to post parts of it here on the site!**

 **Now, I know some of you are wondering what Skyfall looks like in this story. Well, here it is:**

 **-Has the frame of Hawkmoon (with straighter rear sights and no feather engravings)**

 **-Grip of The First Curse/Last Word**

 **-Magazine of The Last Word**

 **-Sights of Thorn (the holographic part, not the entire thing and colored red)**

 **-Is black like most pistols in real life, but has navy blue engravings in a pattern similar to the ones seen in** _ **Tron**_ **(Anyone seen the 2010** _ **Tron Legacy**_ **? Yeah, that kind of pattern) and the Sparrow you receive as a reward from the Refer-A-Friend quest.**

 **-The emblem imprinted next to the chamber is the same one as the wolf from the Wolfsgrin emblem you can get in-game.**

 **Starfall's is basically the same thing, but with a silver finish, red-colored engravings, and the emblem from the Sheltered Truth emblem in-game. Unlike Skyfall, Starfall parallels the Last Word while Skyfall draws parallels with the First Curse.**

 **If any of you want to draw it out, make sure to credit me as the original creator! Or else!**

 **Now, Skyfall's perks!**

 **Column 0: Roulette (Description: After reloading when the magazine is empty and spinning the cylinder, you'll have a 1 out of 18 chance that the bullet will be the same one from the moment you chambered it. If it is the same bullet, it will earn a 6x damage multiplier with overpenetration when the round is fired.), Inhibitor (Description: If used in the Crucible, impact will decrease by 25% and reload will be increased by 25% as a tradeoff.)**

 **Column 1: Field Choke, Accurized Ballistics, Smooth Ballistics**

 **Column 2: Mutiny, Sword of Aegeus, Hannibal, Malleus Maleficarum, Disciplinarian, Slayer of the Darkness (Description: Deals bonus damage to all minions of the Darkness)**

 **Column 3: Speed Reload, Snapshot, Armor-Piercing Rounds, Dark Tracker Rounds (Description: enemies of the Darkness hit by these bullets will be marked on HUD and Tracker.)**

 **Column 4: Skyfall (Description: Precision kills while aiming down the sights or from the hip grants increased stability (regardless of enemy's level) and impact to higher-level minions of the Darkness (applies to enemies above your level, like 41 and 42).)**

 **Stats (Stats are based on both the average of Legendary and Exotic Year 2 Handcannons and Pulse Rifles (Skyfall has the range of a Pulse Rifle) on the Destiny armory, excluding impact):**

 **Rate of Fire: 24**

 **Impact: 100**

 **Range: 39**

 **Stability: 39**

 **Reload: 27**

 **Magazine: 18**

 **If this was an actual Exotic weapon, then it would be considered too OP. Luckily, I oriented Skyfall towards PvE (hence the bonus damage perks to Hive, Fallen, Vex and Cabal), because if people used this in Crucible, then it's more or less like the First Curse, only more stronger. Do you agree with me or do you see other uses if Skyfall was an actual Exotic weapon in** _ **Destiny**_ **? Let me know!**


	5. V: Cayde's Stash

_**Chapter V: Cayde's Stash**_

* * *

How?

How did it turn out to be like this?!

One minute, she was hunting down the Fallen for the cryptarchs, now the Taken are here?! Why!?

Reaper, with Night Predator at the ready, ran for cover in the Divide and Shadestepped to it, back against it as she loaded an arrow. So far, she evaded the Taken Vandal's Wire Rifles and fired her bow from behind cover, taking out a few of them in rapid precision with some Arc energy-tipped arrows and ones made directly from the Arc…but some of the arrows bounced off by some of their 'Ward of Dawn' shields, which were erected as soon as the arrows were feet away from striking some of the Vandals. She kept her head down when the Fallen were thrown into the mix, who caught sight of the Huntress and started to focus on her as well as the Taken.

 _How did they…!_ She noticed that one of the Taken Vandals had their sights on her, and she ducked. However, when she ducked, the Vandal had already fired and her Celestial Nighthawk was knocked off her head, exposing her head. The golden helmet rolled in the snow, far from Reaper's reach until it met its demise at the side of the cliff, where it plunged into the icy waters of the Russian Cosmodrome. As much as she wants to fight back, she knew how many Guardians fell when they had no helmet on. Knowing the Fallen, they would have some Vandals with Wire Rifles at the ready, aimed right at her head as soon as she pops her head out of cover.

"Rex, get me another helmet!"

 **"I can't! Our transmat has been blocked!"** her Ghost frantically cried, trying to gain access to her Guardian's inventory and vault to no avail, no doubt due to the Taken presence. **"I sent out a distress signal to help us out, hopefully─"**

The sound of a hammer slamming against an anvil rang out in the area, to which she saw a glimpse of a Hammer of Sol sailing towards the Taken and Fallen, melting and incinerating all who met its fiery wrath, whether it be from the explosion radius when it lands or if it slams into its victim's face. A symphony of explosions followed as the Solar ability struck its victims, chaining from one victim to another until a fiery inferno was all that's left in the crossfire.

"What the…?" She peeked out her cover, seeing only ashes of the Fallen falling like snow and pillars of Solar flames shrouding the area.

"And here I thought _you_ were the careful one between the both of us. Turns out you need someone to watch your six from time to time."

She turned around. Standing behind her was none other than Spectre. He had a hand out for her to help her up. Her face tinted red as she took it, getting back up on her feet and dusted herself.

"Wait, didn't you go back to the Tower? I saw your ship leave."

"I did, but Cayde sent me back here to get something for him," he explained, clarifying the Huntress on why he returned. "By the way, you're no Hunter without one of these."

"How did you─!" In Spectre's hand was a Celestial Nighthawk, the hawk design staring back at her.

"I called in a favor. It's not the one you lost, but I hope this replacement can suffice. Plus, who'd want to use a soaked Celestial Nighthawk that's been sitting in the icy Russian waters for at least ten seconds?"

 **"By 'favor', you mean 'hacking into the Hunters' Exotic Armor Blueprint kiosk back in the Tower and using one of your plentiful Exotic Shards and 2500 Glimmer to reproduce a Celestial Nighthawk for an unfortunate Huntress who lost hers'."** Primus joked, chuckling until his partner turned his head and started growling frustratingly. **"…Just can't seem to take a joke, can you Spectre?"**

"Not with you pulling the jokes. _Especially_ with the ones concerning a female Guardian."

"T-thanks." Reaper took the replacement of her lost helmet and put it on, allowing her the protection she needs when she will fight any snipers.

 _"Spectre, you at the Cosmodrome?"_ Cayde called through Spectre's Duskrender, to which the Titan gestured Reaper to allow him to take the contact. She nodded, and Spectre turned around with two fingers pressed against the side of an audio receptor.

"Of course I'm at the Cosmodrome, Cayde."

 _"Oh, you got your lady friend with you. Good. She'll tell you where I hid the stealth drive."_

"Cayde, don't you dare think about just leaving me here without any directions to─"

 _"Relax, every Hunter knows where I keep my stash. Told 'em myself. Plus, can't let Ikora in on our little operation. Bye."_ With that, Cayde signed off, leaving a pissed off Spectre to the mission.

"Goddamn slippery bastard!" he yelled angrily, punching a nearby concrete structure and melting part of it off, the rest turning into rubble. "'Can't let Ikora in on our little operation', my ass."

While the Titan was cooling off from his short temper tantrum, Reaper walked next to Primus and whispered, "What's going on?"

 **"Oh, Cayde just left him directionless on a mission. Said something about all the Hunters knowing where he keeps his stash and whatnot…"**

Reaper began to laugh uncontrollably, catching the attention of the Sunbreaker sent by Cayde. "Seriously? Well, I _suppose_ that's why Cayde tells all the Hunters about where he keeps his stash and not the Titans and Warlocks."

"Where? Where does he keep it?"

Instead of telling him straight up, she points up towards the derelict shuttle launch towers. "Right up there."

Spectre trudged towards the launch towers, but the Huntress stopped him dead in his tracks, standing before him and blocking his path. He tried to move forward by walking around her, but was stopped again. "What do you think you're doing? I have a mission to fulfill."

"Only way you're getting up there is with a Hunter. Me."

"Tch, how hard can it be to get up there?"

" _Very_ difficult," she, with Rex hovering over her shoulder, looked at the Titan and his Ghost, "especially with the entrance to get up there."

"Where do we start?"

"The House of Devils' Lair, in the Blast. Beyond that point is the entrance to the dome, and Cayde's stash." She signaled him to follow her before having Rex summon her S-34 Ravensteel and mounting it. Spectre had Primus repeat the same thing and transmat his Ravensteel.

 _ **-Destiny-**_

As soon as the Huntress and Titan approached the Blast, they were met with a gruesome sight.

Taken.

And Fallen.

Both species at war with the other, with the House of Devils fighting to defend their home from the new threat.

Both Guardians mounted off their Sparrows and armed themselves with their relatively new handcannons with their swords and respective special weapons, followed by Primus coming out of his hiding spot and contacting Cayde.

 **"Cayde…we got a real problem down here."**

 _"Let me guess: four arms, wear cloaks…smell real bad?"_ the Hunter Vanguard took a shot in the dark, cracking a joke as well.

 **"Not Fallen─Taken!"**

Cayde cursed under his breath. _"…thought we'd have more time…"_

"Well, what do you think: fight them, or make a run for it?" asked the human Huntress, noting how outmanned─and outgunned─both Guardians were against the Fallen and Taken.

"Seeing as how many heavy hitters are out there, and the fact that my Super's not charged to deal with them yet, I'd say make a run for it."

"Lucky for us, I know how to slip by them…" just as Spectre was about to ask how, Reaper threw down a smoke grenade, enveloping the both of them in smoke and making them appear invisible. The two darted across the conflict, avoiding the number of shots from both sides and slipping by the number of Fallen and Taken outside and past the gate that led to the lair of the House of Devils. Spectre hit the button and the gate slammed back down, preventing any of the enemies to enter. The invisibility effect from Reaper's smoke grenade wore off, allowing the two to be seen again.

"Great, more of this stuff," Spectre grumbled, seeing the area infested with the Taken parasitic membrane as well as the Taken blights. The Huntress knelt down to examine the stuff, but Spectre pulled her away from it. "Don't. Unless you want to end up like Silver, then don't touch it. So watch your step, or where you're putting your hand."

"Noted."

 _"How bad is it?"_ Cayde communicated to both Guardians' comms, prompting them to press their fingers to their helmets' audio receptors.

" **Taken everywhere. Fighting the Fallen."**

 _"Earth's gonna look a lot like Phobos if you two don't find that stealth drive."_ Cayde warned the two, sending the chills of the thought down their spines. _"Reaper, since you're here, why don't you crack open the door for our Titan buddy?"_

"Got it, Cayde."

They pressed on to the lair, where the Taken began to appear. Both Guardians opened fire on their weapons, blasting the Psions and Vandals to oblivion and some that got too close with their own fists and knives. More of them began to appear, and they continued to shoot and melee the hell out of them. As quick as the Taken invasion had been, the threat inside the House of Devils' Lair had been vanquished within a magazine's worth of handcannon, shotgun, and bow ammo as well as some fists and knives.

As soon as Spectre rolled his arm after swinging punches wildly, his comms went live. _"Spectre, it's 20. You there?"_

The leader of the Ancient Vanguard responded, "Yeah, I'm here. What's going on?"

 _"Listen, you remember what we were talking about in my workshop? About some '2.0' materials?"_

"About damn time you got some!"

 _"Well…not really. We were able to create some prototype armor and we need some field testing to see if it works."_

Spectre looked over at the Huntress, who was fiddling around with one of her knives while he was taking a call. "20… See if you can spare another set, this time for a Huntress."

 _"Got it. Transmat ETA for second set will be in two to three minutes. I'm sending over the field test to you now."_

The field test armor transmatted in front of his feet. He knelt down and picked it up, equipping the more resilient plates over his current armor and allowing the 1.0 and prototype '2.0' materials to merge. Spectre cracked his neck, adjusting to the new weight added to his current armor and testing the plates around his knuckles by punching his palm with his good hand. _Huh, not bad at all. Feels like I punched an iron wall instead of my fists._ He flexed his fingers and turned them into fists, checking to see if the joint articulation synced perfectly. _Articulation's good. Durability's great, now for the real test…_

He walked over to a puddle of the Taken membrane, dipping his fingers in it. The pale-blue membrane jumped on his hand, spreading to envelope it entirely and maybe to compromise the armor and convert a warrior of the Light to Oryx's side. Not a good thing. Just as soon as the goo breached his armor, it was met with energy plates covering Spectre's weak points in his armor, the blue light pulsing like the No Backup Plans gauntlets. As swift as the energy came, the parasite leapt off his armor, 'howling' painfully as it vanished back to the realm it came from.

 _"Sorry if it doesn't live up to your expectations. Silver came up with the idea of having the armor being something like a Defender's Disintegrate shield. The plates are the generators and respond to any breaches in the armor."_

"Figured as much. Is the field test done?"

 _"You did one half of the test. The other half deals with some Taken. We're getting reports of some Taken Majors being able to use the parasitic membrane as projectiles."_

"Got it. Is the other set here?"

 _"Check your feet."_ Spectre looked down, and there was an armor set for a Hunter. _"Don't thank me. Thank Silver and the others for it."_

"Humble as ever," the Titan muttered as 20/20 signed off the comms channel before proceeding to pick up the armor set. Reaper sat on the edge of the platform, swinging her legs back and forth and looking up at the sky until Spectre set the armor set down next to her. "Sorry if that took a while. Here, you're gonna need this."

The Huntress got back on her feet and started to add the armor to her own, adjusting to the weight added to her armor-to-cloth ratio. "Don't worry about making me wait. Knowing how much you and your Fireteam works to help us in the frontier and the front lines, I'd understand."

"How's the armor?"

"Little heavy, but I'll manage." With the both of them equipped, they walked down the stairs, only to notice a giant orb sitting in the side destroyed. Primus, out of curiousity, popped out of his pack and began to scan the ball. It was a Prime Servitor.

 **"You guys remember when Sepiks Prime was our biggest problem?"**

"Thank the Traveler it's over."

"Damn Servitors." Spectre cursed, remembering how bad the fights with Sepiks Prime and other Servitors like it were. The huge Void blasts, the amount of damage they soaked up─especially with Kaliks Reborn, goddamn piece of Fallen shit─, it brought up just the bitterness as Reaper leapt across the ruined bridge in the back of the room, calling out to the Titan to follow her. Spectre broke into a run and Lifted off the ledge, gliding over to where the Huntress was and walking off the landing.

"Well, that's new."

"Wait, it's supposed to be closed!" Reaper gasped, seeing the entrance to where Cayde kept his stash opened. Even if there was a trick to get through it, somebody got through!

 **"Cayde, the door's already open; we're inside."**

 _"And the Flux grenades didn't detonate?"_

"They're all gone." Reaper answered, and the two Guardians heard the Exo Vanguard groan.

 _"I gotta get out of this tower."_

Spectre and Reaper continued on to the area, with the Titan following the Huntress all the way to an abandoned elevator shaft leading to the Devil's Spire. The Taken blight in the area let out a flash of light, blinding both Guardians as Taken Thrall appeared around the two, surrounding them as soon as the flash stopped. The twisted Thrall twitched uncontrollably, ready to take more to their king.

Both Guardians stood back to back in the middle, looking around their environment and conditions. No way to jump up and out of the ring. "Now what?"

"Just kill them and clear a path." Having no choice, Spectre pulled out Raze-Lighter from his back, the blade materializing and engulfing itself in Solar flames as his shield came back to his arm. Under her helmet, Reaper smiled and brought out her own Raze-Lighter and the two began swinging the flame-engulfed swords wildly, slaughtering the Taken Thrall by the swing.

After the threat in the area has been cleared out, both of them put away their swords and made their way to the elevator, where a shutter closed the two of them as soon as Spectre got in.

 **"What are the chances the elevator still works?"** as though to answer the Ghost's question, the elevator activated, the metal moaning after what has to be a long time since its last use. **"We're headed up. Cayde? When's the last time you rode this elevator?"**

 _"Relax, it works fine! …But…stand by for resurrection, Primus."_ Cayde reassured the Ghost, but somehow, that second part didn't seem to convince him.

As the elevator was slowly getting up to the top, Primus and Rex began to analyze the energy readings in the Cosmodrome. Reaper was checking out her knife, making sure it's in top form. However, her eyes glanced over at the Titan, who was staring out into the wilderness of the Cosmodrome, a hand out as though he was looking at something in it before it was engulfed in Solar fire.

"Hey, you okay?" Reaper caught the leader of the Ancient Vanguard's attention, and the Solar-engulfed hand was extinguished.

"Huh? Yeah, I'm fine. Just spacing out."

" _That_ , coming from the protégé of Commander Zavala? That's new."

Spectre shrugged. "A leader has their moments." They reached the top of the spire, and the both of them got off the elevator…which collapsed and fell back to the bottom. "Well, there goes our lift."

 **"How do we find your stealth drive?"**

 _"There's a bridge from the tower to the ship. It took me days to get it working; it's a little unstable, so watch your step."_

Spectre found the controls for the bridge nearby. Unfortunate for him. That, and that the bridge has been locked into place in another position. Reaper, after inspecting the controls, looked upwards to see something to reroute the power.

 **"Cayde, someone moved the bridge, destroyed the controls."**

 _"Yeah, that's the Fallen─probably trying to keep the Taken off their backs. See if you can reroute the power,"_ the Exo Vanguard took another crack at guessing what happened, sparking flying in Spectre's view. _"Once you get the bridge working, my stash is in the ball on the top of the colony ship."_

 _"We're still waiting for details on this plan of yours, Cayde."_

 _Shit, we've been compromised._ Spectre mentally face palmed at hearing the Warlock Vanguard's voice. As much as he wanted to pin the blame on Cayde, it was probably the Warlocks' goddamned knack for being curious that got them under the microscope.

Just as soon as comms ended, the Bladedancer came landing down next to the Sunbreaker. "No need to worry about rerouting the power."

"Why's that?" The bridge began to creak and moan, waking up from its slumber. It began to move to the right, connecting the gap between the towers from the one the Guardians were on to the one with Cayde's stash.

"Did it while you were talking to Cayde."

"Just how much of a lone wolf are you?"

"More than all the lone wolf Titans I know." As Spectre just got burned, the middle of the bridge began to fall apart as soon as the end connecting the bridge to the other tower met. It fell apart, the bridge now in half as though a giant just ripped it in half.

"And I assume this is where things get difficult for us Titans and Warlocks?" he turned to face the Huntress, but she wasn't there. In her place was a note, which he picked up. _Meet you at the other side._

"Goddammit."

 _ **-Destiny-**_

Reaper sat on a steel beam next to a Fallen grav-lift, legs swinging over the edge and humming a tune as she waited for a certain Sunbreaker. Her replaced Celestial Nighthawk sat next to her, the golden scheme glistening in the afternoon sun.

 **"How long do you think it'll take for him to be here?"** her Ghost hovered over her shoulder as normal, alternating between looking at the sun and at her partner.

"If I had to make a guess, I'd say right about…" she caught the sound of Titan boots clanging against the metal that made up the tower as well as an argument between two people. "Now."

 **"How was I supposed to know that the Phalanx would launch you that far?! Even more, be able to block your fusion grenade that quick?!"**

"Are you kidding me?! Primus, you're a _Ghost_! Your job was to resurrect me when I'm down and help me out with the Golden Age doors; not goddamn laughing at me when I was knocked off the platform!"

 **"Admit it, it was funny considering you died from a combination of a fusion grenade and that Phalanx's shield blast."** (A/N: This actually happened to me when I was playing Cayde's Stash once. I died from both my Fusion Grenade which was on that Taken Phalanx's shield at the hatch and the shield blast. *Insert 'fus ro dah!' or any other joke that involves someone or something being launched here*)

"Yeah? How about I put _you_ in that situation instead of me!?" Spectre stopped mid-rant to look at the Huntress and her Ghost staring at the two of them, a hint of amusement in their look.

Reaper got up from the beam and put her Celestial Nighthawk back on, facing the Titan and his Ghost. "Are you two done arguing?"

 **"It's pretty amusing to see something like this, I'll admit."** Rex chuckled.

"…One minute." Spectre turned to face Primus and wrapped one of his hands around Primus' shell.

 **"Hey, what are you─ yeow ow ow!"** smoke began to fume from Spectre's Ghost shell-holding hand, followed by a mild flame of Solar energy encasing it. **"Okay, okay! I'll do my job next time!"**

Spectre let go of his Ghost and extinguished the Solar energy from his fist. "Don't do your job one more time, and it'll be more than just having a burn mark on your shell. Maybe I'll even melt off one part of your shell!"

 **"Lesson learnt, Spectre."** With that settled, Primus returned to his place in Spectre's pack on his mark, never to bug him while he's still pissed off.

"Are you done?" asked Reaper, and the Sunbreaker nodded. "Why in the name of the Traveler would you do such a thing to a Ghost?"

"As much as he gets on my nerves─aside from Rez─, it's him either bugging me about a topic I don't enjoy or just being annoying and pushing my buttons," clarified Spectre, looking out into the afternoon sky just like the Bladedancer next to him. "Grav-lift the only thing left until we enter the dome?"

"Yep. Just get on it and we're inside the ball." The two got on the Fallen machine and they were taken straight into the ball where Cayde kept his stash… Only for there to be a group of Fallen already there. The Huntress and Titan whipped out their respective custom handcannons and started shooting at the Vandals and Dreg. Just as soon as Spectre was about to punch a Dreg with his Sunstrike, a violent shockwave erupted in the area, wiping out the Fallen and sending the two Guardians into the walls. Reaper was able to survive the impact without much of a problem. The Titan, on the other hand and despite being in heavy armor, was thrown into it so hard that a crater formed as soon as he hit it.

"Agh, dammit…" Spectre groaned, definitely feeling the shockwave as his helmet began to blare out red like crazy. "Reaper!"

"I'm okay! Look!" the center of the room began to warp with a dark aura, with the aura transfiguring into a Hive-like creature with wings. "That has to be Oryx!"

"WHAT CROTA BEGAN, I COMPLETE! VENGEANCE FOR CROTA!" the shadow raised his hand towards the Huntress, the signature aura produced by Wizards' Darkness Blasts beginning to ignite.

"Get out of there!"

Reaper ducked for cover just as soon as the Echo of Oryx started firing its Darkness Blast, Shadestepping at the last second when the blasts were mere inches away from hitting her. Holstering Starfall, she drew out Night Predator and nocked in three Solar tipped arrows into the Sapphire Wire-made bowstring, pulling them back and aiming at the Echo's face. She let go, letting the arrows fly and strike the Echo in the face. The Echo howled painfully and lashed out at the Huntress by firing more Darkness Blasts, this time more overwhelming than before. Again, the Huntress ducked with her Shadestep, but not unscathed like the last time. Some of the blasts caught her mid-Shadestep, draining some of her health. Her prototype Anti-Taken armor had helped repel the Taken parasite off her armor, and thankfully it didn't malfunction.

Spectre, after freeing himself from his spot from the wall, collapsed to the floor, his regenerative abilities not even kicking in. He looked up painfully as the Echo continued to shoot Darkness Blasts at his Huntress partner with apparently no defining limit. _Dammit, what the hell can I do? My health's not regenerating, my field test armor's probably busted from the impact, and I can't get back on my feet without getting on a knee…_ He punched the ground defeatingly, melting off part of the metal. _There's only one thing I can do…_ Painfully, he got back up with a bit of a struggle and watched as Taken blights took the stage before him and sent off many Taken Psions.

"Bring it!" he called out and summoned his Hammer of Sol, jumping upwards and slamming it against the metal. A wave of devastating Solar energy similar to a Striker's Shockwave ability erupted from the hammer and the ground colliding, tracking its unfortunate victims and incinerating them to ashes. Just as the Taken Blights showed up, the Sunbreaker charged towards them and swung it, causing them to all explode in fiery Solar energy and never allowing the Taken to come to the battleground.

"Hey Oryx!" the Echo turned around, stopping his onslaught of Darkness Blasts and allowing Reaper some breathing space. "You looking for me!? Huh?! Because I was the one who killed your son?!" just before his Super energy ran out, he transferred the Solar energy from his Raze-Lighter into his Sunbreaker subclass, practically giving it the effects of Boundless Light and ensuring that his Super remains charged until he finishes off the clone. "Well, send your armies of Hive and Taken after me and my team! Once I'm done with your doppelgänger and armies, _I'm making sure you join Crota in the grave!_ "

He started to throw more Hammers of Sol at the Echo, enveloping the shadow of the Taken King in flames and allowing Reaper to heal up and nock an arrow into her bow. She pulled it back, aiming at the Echo and channeled the energies of the Void into the arrow before letting it go. The arrow struck the Echo from behind, preventing it from warping away to safety.

"Now, Spectre!"

"No need to tell me twice!"

The Titan broke into a running start and leapt up to match the height of the Echo of Oryx. Just as he was eye to eye with the doppelgänger, he left hooked the Echo, leaving a Solar mark on one of its jaws, then raised his hands over his head in a Fist of Havoc-like motion and slamming the shadow down to the ground with his fists. The Echo crashed into the floor, and Spectre stomped down on its spine, making sure it doesn't get back up. As much as the Echo tried to free itself from the Sunbreaker and the Shadowshot, it howled painfully as the Titan on its back began to claw at where his wings and his back met until Spectre ripped them off like they were just props on a costume. The shadow tried to escape by shaking Spectre off of it, but Reaper shot down another Shadowshot arrow and tethering it down further.

"Come anywhere near the City or me and my Fireteam, and this is what will happen to your armies and your damned doppelgängers you send after us!" his good fist began to infuse itself with Solar, Arc, and Void energy as he pried open the Echo's jaws forcibly with his other hand.

The Echo watched frozen and horribly as Spectre threw his fist down its mouth, the burning, electric, and disintegrating feeling of the three elements starting to do their job with their respective feeling when struck. The shadow of the Taken King began to disintegrate from the inside out, howling while the Titan's fist was still in its jaws followed by an eruption of flames. However, as there were Solar fire, there was also black fire erupting from the Echo. After what seemed to be an eternity of agony and suffering, the Echo ceased its howls of agony and was violently pulled in from a pocket black hole to whence it came, removing the blight of the Taken from the area…for now.

Just as the threat was dealt with, Spectre stood back up, breathing heavily as he removed his Duskrender and let it fall next to him before he fell to his knees. The aura produced by Sunbreakers when activating their Supers faded away, heaving him back to his black-colored armor. Out of the reflection on his helmet's visor, he saw a horrifying sight.

 _Dammit, no!_ No _!_ His steel-blue eyes wasn't blue.

It turned to a sinister gold. And there was blood on his face.

 _No, no, no,_ NO _! Why?!_ He shook his head, hoping it was just another hallucination. Spectre looked back at his helmet's visor. The gold eyes and blood had faded away, and the blue came back.

 **"That thing seemed pretty mad. Oryx must still be holding a grudge against us. You know…killing Crota?"** Primus popped out of his hiding spot, looking at his partner while he was still trying to assess why his eyes turned gold instead of blue. **"Here, you might need this."** The Duskrender helmet hovered right before Spectre's face, and the Sunbreaker took it, slapping it back on and hiding his face again under the guise of the Duskrender.

"Spectre?" said Titan turned around as soon as he got back on his feet and at the Huntress who helped him on the way up here with a Stealth Drive in hand. "Here. I was able to acquire it while you were dealing with that…thing."

"…Thank you." Primus stored the Stealth Drive in the Titan's inventory for him as Reaper's Ghost materialized next to her. The Huntress took off her helmet and pulled her hood down, letting her long brunette hair tumble down and her gray eyes out of the visor.

 **"You're not hurt, are you? That was a pretty bad slam, if you ask me."**

"Primus, you know better that I've endured slams to the wall far worse than that," he rolled his arm that had the infused elements used to slay the Echo, feeling numb from all that trouble. "Thanks for the help, Reaper."

"It's not a bother, Spectre. Because like you and The Ancient Vanguard, I want to help out my fellow Guardians, even though I'm a lone wolf a lot of the time," she stared at the ground, facing away from Spectre's gaze. "Hey, um, if you don't mind me asking, but do you─"

"Want to go on a date?" Spectre finished, and that caused the Huntress to look at him. "Didn't you ask me for a Grudge Match earlier?"

"Um, it's fine if you don't want to! I understand completely!"

"Hold on, let me finish." Reaper stopped acting flustered at her sudden boldness and Spectre sighed, admitting defeat against his own Ghost. "As much as I know, every human female Guardian has asked me the same thing. But I always knew that they only wanted to use me as a thing to brag about. And honestly, that's not how I roll. Don't take it the wrong way, but how can I be sure that you're not going to just use me?"

Her face started burning crimson red, and she turned around to avoid Spectre's helmeted gaze. "That's not my intention! I just want to know you better. Better than everyone in the Tower knows about you. That's what I meant by going out on a date."

"…Very well," the Huntress looked up and looked at Spectre. "Since we'll be going out on a date, I suppose this will cancel out the Grudge Match?"

"Yes."

"Well then, how about tomorrow? Because I'm pretty sure I won't have to deal with any shenanigans for the day. Aside from the normal crap with Rez and having an earful from probably Zavala and Ikora today when I get back."

"Yeah, that'll work."

"See you tomorrow." Spectre gave a two-fingered salute at the Huntress before he had Primus materialize back into his palm and transmat him to his custom-colored _Fatal Vision_ , leaving Reaper in the dome where Cayde keeps his stash. As for the Bladedancer, she remained frozen in place, speechless and not having enough time to say goodbye. Instead, she gave a half-wave at where the Sunbreaker stood before he was transmatted.

 **"Hmm…"** Rex's red and gray-colored shell whirred open and close, the blue 'eye' brighter as though it was scanning something.

"W-what is it, Rex?"

Rex closed her shell, facing her Guardian partner. **"That didn't go according to how you wanted it, didn't you?"**

"What are you talking about? _Of course_ it went how I imagined it!" the Huntress argued, her face still red.

 **"I knew it. You like him."**

"No I don't!"

 **"Don't lie to me, Reaper."**

"Stop it."

 **"Come** _ **onnn**_ **, admit it."**

"Little─"

 **"Fine! I'll cut it out!"** yelled the Ghost, the two having a moment of silence before Reaper jumped off a nearby edge of the dome and begin to parkour her way down instead of going down the conventional way. Instead of going with her, Rex stayed behind for a while, her shell in scanning mode. As soon as her scan was complete, she closed it, the rear part whirring in a disappointed notion.

 **[** _ **That's odd…**_ **]** She faced where the Echo of Oryx faced its demise by the Sunbreaker, then up towards the sky. **[** _ **For a second, I thought I picked up a powerful concentration of the Darkness just as that shadow was being incinerated alive by Spectre's element-infused Sunstrike…**_ **]**

 **[** _ **It can't be…can it?**_ **]**


	6. VI: Lightning in the Solar Storm

_**Chapter VI: Lightning in the Solar Storm**_

* * *

 _A warm breeze brushed by Spectre's face, the setting sun clear as day upon the untamed wilderness of an unknown area on Earth. For a fact, this area was not the Russian Cosmodrome. It was somewhere else. Somewhere in the European Dead Zone._

Again… This damned dream again!

 _And damned it was. Here, the Sunbreaker is in no control of himself. He never wanted to witness this again. This is what haunted him down to his very core. It was a scar that he would never forget, nor try to erase it from his memories._

But why? Why is it happening now?!

 _There he stood, in the wasteland-like wilderness, with an iconic English clocktower in the far distance, and with it, a city. Before him was a Huntress, kneeling down in a pained and defeated motive. Her helmet was gone, next to her side and it was clear that Spectre could see the face even as the sun began to set. It was just like Reaper's face in terms of how beautifully defined it was, but this one had black hair and that it was ruined by black veins running all over her face like she was corrupted by something. Another disturbing thing was her eyes. It was the same color when he was hallucinating back when he slayed the Echo._

 _A sinister gold._

No, not again! NOT AGAIN!

 _But his pleas to make whatever force is forcing him to relive this continued to torture the leader of the Ancient Vanguard. A ghost that forced him to relive it stood at the sidelines invisible, silently cackling as it enjoyed the agony and torture that the Titan was facing. This invisible ghost was the one pulling the strings, reenacting his dreaded memories._

No!

 _Unable to control himself in this nightmare, Spectre took out the First Curse from his hip holster and aimed it at the Huntress's face. As though she sensed it, she looked upwards, further causing the knife to carve deeper than normal. Even if those golden eyes were lifeless or emotionless, he knew that underneath that veil was denial. They pleaded him not to kill her, not even in this state she's in. And at this point, he agreed with what her eyes were pleading him._

 _"Don't…" she rasped, her voice clearly strained as though she had been screaming continuously for the past few hours. "Please… Don't do it." Tears began to fall from her gold-colored eyes, and it hurt the Sunbreaker even further._

 _Spectre knew at this point he had said something back to the Huntress, but in this nightmare, it was muted. He raised the counterpart of the Last Word and aimed the barrel towards the Huntress's head. He cocked the hammer of the handcannon back, readying the round. If the Titan wanted to get out of this nightmare, it was too late. He's going to suffer the one part of this dreaded memory once more._

 _"_ … _I'm sorry." The Spectre in this memory apologetically said, and the Huntress closed her eyes._

NO!

 _Bang!_

* * *

The Titan awoke to a startle, springing up in his bed in his Fireteam's quarters. Sweat beaded across his forehead and his breathing became rather heavy, forcing him to press a palm to his forehead. A stinging feeling surged in his forehead, and he continued to hold his hand to his head. _Dammit… Why now out of all the times it could've done it? Better yet, why did it bother to even make me suffer again!?_ He sat at the edge of his bed after assessing what just happened, his breathing regulating as time passed. The pain faded away, and the Sunbreaker looked at his hand. _Is there nothing I can do to forget it all?_ The same blood that was on his face after the fight with the Echo of Oryx transferred to his hand, and for once, he didn't bother shaking it off. Even if it was a hallucination.

 _How can I live with this? Not even two years, and it haunts me to no end. No matter what I do to run from it, it always drags me back to my own hell._ His blue-gray eyes, darker than normal, focused their gaze on a shape resting on the bedside table. _There's a million shards of glass, and it still haunts me from my past._ He got out of bed and stood before his bedside table, staring at it both hatefully and regretfully.

Because sitting on the bedside was a handcannon.

The First Curse. Stained with blood along the barrel just like Red Death. _Her_ blood.

Spectre wanted to throw the handcannon out of his quarter's window or throw it into the icy waters of where he killed her, but that handcannon was the only thing left that has been imprinted with a memory of _her_. A memory that he never wanted to remember.

 _How do I live? How do I breathe? When you're not here, I'm suffocating in my own regrets. I just want to feel love run through my blood…but I'll never be that way because I killed you._ Reluctantly, he picked up the First Curse, his hand brushing against the blood-stained frame like the gun was a lover's hand.

"I know you would never forgive me," he mourned, hand around the grip moving away to reveal an emblem printed on it. A wolf's head similar to the emblem on Skyfall's frame, but with a Hunter's knife in its mouth and the same knives on the sides of the head. Her insignia.

"Is that why I'm being punished with these nightmares of that day…? Vesper?"

 _ **-Destiny-**_

 **"To start sending a message, please start─"**

 _"I HATE YOU!"_ A Hunter roared irritatingly in front of his Ghost, Sundial, scaring it and forcing it to send a message. "Melia, its Firewing. When are you─?"

 **"Sorry Firewing, but Amelia's not taking messages at this time of the day."** The other Ghost on the other end of the comms channel, Phoenix, informed, forcing the cyborg Hunter to enter a frustrated groan before the comms channel closed.

"Ugh, I'm gonna kill that Ghost, I'm gonna kill that Ghost."

"Dude, just chill out. I mean, you and Amelia's been going after each other for a while, but pushing it today? Not cool." An Exo Titan, Lucks, answered. As much as Firewing was a member of Fireteam Death, including Lucks and another Exo─a Warlock, unfortunately─ everyone's gotta have their problems.

"Lucks, I got some word from her that an unknown ship's been spotted headed towards the City from the outer reaches of the Reef. Tri's busy getting the Twilight House set up, and I seriously don't think that both we and Amelia can investigate it without our ships being blown up to pieces!"

"Why not ask Spectre and his team? They've done stuff like that before."

The Hunter facepalmed. "Lucks, did you not hear? All ships can't go past Earth's orbit without a good reason─aside from patrols and bounties─, and Spectre's team isn't excluded this time because of what Cayde made him do yesterday!"

"Uh, Firewing?"

"What?!" The Exo pointed behind the human, and said Hunter turned around at the sound of several ships headed towards the Tower. He saw Amelia's _Quite Content Damsel_ with the Jade Rabbit insignia imprinted on its middle fin. "Oh, there she is."

Another ship was behind Amelia's ship. A silver and black _Draught of Nectar_ , with a multitude of weapons that made it more of an attack-class ship rather than its original purpose. The Guardians in the plaza caught sight of the intimidating ship and they all immediately raised their weapons as the ship positioned itself over the grass instead of docking in the hangar, letting the pylons attach themselves to anchor itself and remain hovering over the plaza.

 _"Fireteam Nero Bianco, please report to the hangar bay_ immediately _."_

 _Wait, what?_ The two members of Fireteam Death watched as Spectre, Rez and Silver walked from the Hall of Guardians towards the hangar, walking normally as though nothing was wrong. Well, Firewing supposed that was because of some other reason unlike the time Death was caught working with the House of Winter a while ago.

As sudden as this turn of events were, the Guardians in the area re-holstered their weapons and began to talk with others nearby, wondering why the elite of the Vanguard's Fireteams were called to the hangar. And that included Lucks and Firewing.

"What was that all about?"

The Exo shrugged. "Beats me. Haven't seen Nero Bianco get into trouble since… Well, never."

"It couldn't get any worse than what we had to go through! Who knows what could be on that ship?! It could be Cabal that commandeered a Guardian's ship, or maybe Fallen! Maybe it could be a decoy that has been rigged to blow up! Or─"

* * *

"Spectre's sister?!"

"Is that a problem, Hunter?" the sister of Nero Bianco's leader coldly questioned, cracking her knuckles in the case that she needs to teach someone some manners. She faced the Sunbreaker, a faint smile on her lips under her helmet. "Spectre. It's good to see you again."

"Seeing as it's been, what? Nine years since I last saw you?" (A/N: Humans' lifespan in _Destiny_ is tripled due to the Golden Age, and Spectre is physically 23-24, meaning he's 69-72 years old due to the Golden Age).

"And you weren't always in black armor, last I remember. Had a habit of using red and black shaders," she reached for her helmet and removed it, revealing long blonde hair in a shade similar to Spectre's with red tips as well as a lighter shade of blue eyes. "And with those years, you must have improved greatly."

The Sunbreaker scoffed. "Seeing as you were always in the Trials nonstop since the day you left and never came back, it's no surprise that I did, Light. Plus, how the hell did you find me?!"

"There's only one place most Guardians would be mostly found. Plus, I had Artemis follow Primus's scan signatures."

"Explains the armor," muttered Rez, to which he earned a death stare from Spectre's sister. "I always knew that there was a silver of a chance that Spectre had some relatives, but I held on to the hope that he was the byproduct of a Pre-Golden Age military program that turned their test subjects into unstoppable soldiers!" (A/N: Cough cough *another famous franchise by Bungie reference* cough cough)

The next thing he knew, the new Titan and his commander in both the Fireteam and Ancient Vanguard punched him in the face at the same time, sending the Hunter into a Sparrow power core. It exploded on his impact, throwing him out of the hangar and down the cliff where the Tower rested.

 _"Son of a biiiiiiitch!"_ the three hear the Hunter call out as he plummeted down and his Ghost, Church, appeared before them as a blue orb.

 **"Guardian down."** He muttered, delaying the respawn time for his partner to return because of apparently insulting Spectre in front of his sister.

"I'll deal with him, Spectre. Gotta let you and your sister catch up," Silver walked over to where Church was hovering and brought Rez back.

"You son of a bitch! I'm gonna─!" before Rez could go up to the Titans, he was held back by the Warlock and Spectre held his sister back before things could get out of hand.

"Sis, calm down!"

"I'll rip that godforsaken throat of yours out! Then your eyeballs and force you to eat them while you're being ripped in half by my sword, you Hunter piece of shit! And if you're still breathing after I rip you in half, I'll rip your head off and put it on a pike for all the Hunters to see!"

"Then come at me, she-hulk!" just as Rez delivered the most insulting blow that further angered the female Titan, the Exo holding back the human Hunter freed one of his hands from holding him back and ignited an Arc-infused force ignite. He placed a hand around the back of Rez's neck before he electrocuted him, shocking the Hunter to the degree that he was knocked out from being electrocuted.

"Sorry Rez, but you're being too much of an ass right now," apologized the Warlock, looking back at the Titans. "I'll take him back to the quarters, hopefully stop him from being an ass for the day." He began to carry the unconscious Hunter on his shoulder and walked out the hangar, ignoring the looks of the other Guardians that saw the Warlock carrying a Hunter.

"You realize that was a prototype Sparrow power core, you two." Amanda Holliday walked in on the Titans, hands on her hips and a mildly pissed off look on her face. "I was building that thing, and look what you two did! You blew it up!"

"Relax, Amanda. That wasn't a stable one. Plus, I know the blueprints to replace it. I'm not known for adding Exotic perks to Legendary armor for nothing."

"Stable? That power core was sensitive to impacts because of its current stage!" Holliday darted a dark glare at the Sunbreaker, to which he was somewhat intimidated. "You owe me big time, otherwise I'll have to talk to Hurricane to do it for me."

"I know. Just let me go back to my workshop and I'll rebuild one for you."

Light raised an eyebrow. "Wait, you have a Sparrow workshop?"

"Well, not exactly for Sparrows. How do you think I implemented Exotic perks to my Legendary armor?"

"…Good point."

"It better, since I need the engine for the new Sparrows for the Racing League. I have the new EV-class Sparrows to get on the track for test runs before I start rolling them out."

"Give me at least an hour. I'll bring a stable one for tests by then. If it's successful, then I'll send over the details to make copies of it." He began to walk away, gesturing his sister to follow him as they head over to his workshop.

* * *

"So this is it."

"Honestly, it's not on par with what we had before. But this is the Tower," Spectre began working on replacing the destroyed power core that Amanda intended to test before the SRL starts, Primus materializing and creating a replicated power core that he unintentionally destroyed. "No wonder it was unstable. The power conduit's energy output configuration is all wrong, which would explain why the energy is too much for it to handle. Just what is Amanda trying to do? Make more Overdrive Sparrows?"

 **"I don't think that would be the case. According to the roster of new Sparrows for SRL, there are going to be Destabilizer and Normal Sparrows. No sign of Overdrive Sparrows anywhere on it."**

Spectre cracked his knuckles. "Primus, tell Amanda that I'll be sending over a power core for the Normal and Destabilizer Sparrows to test within 30 minutes."

 **"Already did."**

Spectre's sister watched as her brother began to work on the power core, sparks flying and the constant whirring of power measurers informing the Sunbreaker whether it was stable or not. She stood near the doorframe, back resting against it and arms crossed. "Do you know why I'm here, really?"

"Let me guess; involves a new threat to our System, leader of said threat is the father of a Hive god, and said father is after a specific Fireteam that put down his son on the Moon?"

"I'd say you got it right. But its not just the Taken that's the problem here."

"What else do we need to worry about? Vex? The Fallen? Or is it Triton and that new House he founded?"

"It's the Cyphers." His sister informed.

Spectre stopped what he was doing and put the tools down, a look crossing both hate and feeling grim on his face. "What do they want?"

"They want to know what's the progress on the mission."

"I've told them months ago, it's not the time yet. Who knows how long it will take until the time comes?" he picked up his tools again and started adjusting the conduits in the core, ensuring that they can withstand the amount of power the Sparrows need to be used time and time again. "Because if it were up to me, I'd tell them that the mission should be completed when the Light has its back against the wall."

"By then, it would be too late."

"Then how would they react when our mission's directive just before it happens? Surely by then they would turn on _us_."

"A good point, indeed," she unfolded her arms and took out a sidearm from her hip holster, inspecting the weapon like it was an entirely alien object. From her Mark, she drew out a knife and started spinning it around her hand before entering a CQC stance with her sidearm and knife. After checking the sights to see if they were in perfect sync, she put away both her knife and sidearm. "…How are you holding up, Spectre?"

Spectre stopped working on reconfiguring the power core's conduits as soon as he heard the question, putting down the tools meant for readjusting the conduits. The nightmares of that day began to flash in his head, forcing him to shake his head to get rid of it. Looking at his Ghost, he nodded for Primus to continue working on the power core's energy output as he turned in his chair and faced his sister, exhaling heavily. "You well know the answer to that question, Lightning."

"I thought by now you would've gotten over it."

"No. You had no idea how much I tried to let go of it, but the nightmares of that day still haven't let go of me. Even if it has been two years since."

Lightning frowned. "I know how much she meant to you. You two were perfect for each other, and then…"

"Shit hit the fan hard."

"You can't keep blaming the Cyphers for─"

"The hell with the Cyphers!" he sprang up from his chair, anger boiling over at their mention. "Do you have any idea how much I _hate_ them for forcing my hand?! Even if they tasked me with an important mission like a week after I killed her? A mission which I'm still doing to this day?!"

"…Is there really no way to bring you back? Back to the brother I once knew before I left?"

As much as he felt guilty for what's going on with him since Lightning left for the Trials, he knew the answer to her question. "Not entirely. There is some of the old me, but only a shard out of the millions that once defined me. Everything else has been shattered, gone since Vesper's death. And there's no way to bring those destroyed pieces back." He faced his sister, someone he once knew was just like a gender-bent clone of himself before they parted ways.

"But all in all, it's good to see you again."

"Agreed, brother."

* * *

 **Well, who would've expected a new character to join the fray?! And from me, no less! No one? Meh, okay then.**

 **So, who** _ **are**_ **these 'Cyphers'? Are they connected to the Vanguard and the City? I'll leave it up to your interpretation. But know this: once there's a real answer to the Cyphers, will you realize who they are and what significance they have before they are revealed?**

 **Here's Spectre's sister's profile:**

 **Lightning:**

 **Main Subclass: Story-exclusive, modified Striker that combines Arc and Solar elements 'Sunstriker' (Talent Nodes used: Solarstorm Grenade (Combines Incendiary Grenade from Sunbreakers with Arcbolt and Pulse Grenades from Stormcallers and Strikers); Balanced Lift (Lift, provides a balance between Increased Height, Increased Control, and Catapult); Infernal Punishment (Super, combines Death from Above and Aftermath from Striker with the bigger explosions effect of Forgemaster from Sunbreaker); Arcburn Strike (Solar/Arc combined melee with Discharge effect from Striker and Stoke the Forge's insta-cooldown effect from Sunbreaker); Titan Codex III; Explosive Shock (Combines Explosive Pyre's 'exploding, chaining damage to enemies' effect with Aftershocks and Transfusion); Titan Codex V; Divine Sunstriker (normally regenerates health with every enemy brought down by the Solar/Arc fusion-based abilities, but also causes grenade and melee abilities to recharge faster in a stackable effect up to 3 times)**

 **Primary Weapon: Self-built Auto Rifle 'Empress of the Abyss' (story exclusive, treated as an Exotic weapon; follows a similar upgrade path to both SUROS Regime and Fabian Strategy, excluding it's special perks that make it unique (Perk column 0 description, Charged Up: When loading a fresh magazine and making the first precision kill, magazine will refill and impact will be increased for the duration of the magazine; Perk column 4 description, Empress of the Abyss: Kills with this weapon increases stability, reload speed, and impact greatly.). Weapon takes the frame of a black and gray-colored SUROS ARI auto rifle, but is bullpup-styled like pulse rifles with a curved magazine, mounted ballistic shield similar to Fabian Strategy, and features a SUROS SRO-41 scope with the range of a SRO-37 scope.**

 **Secondary Weapon: In Times of Need (Variant with High Caliber Rounds, Final Round and Range Finder), revamped silenced Walther CP99**

 **Heavy Weapon: Arc/Solar-fused Infinite Edge**

 **Ghost Shell: Dread Explorer lookalike**

 **Helmet: Golden Bull Mask (with an evasion perk similar to Graviton Forfeit and Twilight Garrison)**

 **Gauntlets: Winged Sun Gauntlets (with the Exotic perk of ACD/0 Feedback Fence)**

 **Chest: Winged Sun Chest (with the Exotic perks of the Armamentarium and Crest of Alpha Lupi)**

 **Legs: Blindsight Greaves (Grants Lightning a Solar/Arc-fused variant of Shoulder Charge)**

 **Mark: Thalor's Golden Maul**

 **Artifact: Echo of Honor**

 **Shader: Abydos Common**

 **Bio: Twin sister of Spectre, Lightning is the more tactical and soldier-like of the two and can be straight to the point if she wants…which is unfortunately all the time, both in combat and in missions. At 60, she and her brother parted ways as Lightning sought out to be stronger, leading her to the Trials of Osiris in the Reef. There, she earned a reputation as one of Osiris's greatest champions as she did the Trials alone flawlessly. While she was in the Reef, she was the first Guardian to work under the Queen as one of her personal knights and participated in the Reef Wars, and recently, the House of Wolves's escape. She, based on her ruthlessness against the Fallen during the Reef Wars, was once offered the position of Queen's Wrath before she declined it and let her only Awoken friend, Petra Venj, take it. Aside from Petra, her only other friend is member of the House of Judgment, Variks. Even if she is the older of the twins and the more battle-hardened to the point that she appears cold and standoffish outside of combat, she has a softer side in which she often worries about her brother, especially with the incident that changed him forever. Unlike typical Sidearm-bearing Guardians, Lightning utilizes not a Häkke Sidearm or one used by the Awoken in the Reef, but a Pre-Golden Age Walther CP99 semiautomatic handgun that has been heavily modified and tuned up to get on par with the standard Sidearms of now.**

 **For anyone curious as to how this new Huntress (Vesper) and Spectre appeared during his nightmare, here are the armor sets the two used:**

 **Spectre:**

 **Helmet: Knight Type 4**

 **Gauntlets: Knight Type 2**

 **Chest: Knight Type 4**

 **Legs: Knight Type 1**

 **Mark: Mark of the Watcher**

 **Shader: Debt Unpaid**

 **Vesper:**

 **Helmet: Cryptid 4.6.2**

 **Gauntlets: Cryptid 4.6d**

 **Chest: Cryptid 4.6**

 **Legs: Cryptid 4.6.2**

 **Cloak: Hardcase Cloak**

 **Shader: Aurora Blur**


	7. VII: Something to Remember

**Prophet (my Ghost): WarNIng-wARniNG: ComMUNNicaTions HACked! UnaBLE TO─**

 ***White noise***

 **Me: PROphET?! WhaT ThE Hell Is gOINg ON─?!**

 ***White noise cancels out comms-and an electronic whine cancels the white noise***

 **[** _ **23-5 1-18-5 20-8-5 3-25-16-8-5-18-19.**_

 _ **20-8-5 1-2-19-15-12-21-20-9-15-14 4-9-18-5-3-20-9-22-5 9-19 3-15-13-9-14-7.**_

 _ **20-8-5 20-15-23-5-18, 20-8-5 3-15-14-19-5-14-19-21-19, 1-14-4 20-8-5 22-1-14-7-21-1-18-4 23-9-12-12 16-1-25 6-15-18 23-8-1-20 20-8-5-25 4-9-4 20-15 21-19.**_

 _ **15-14-5 15-6 21-19 19-20-1-14-4-19 1-13-15-14-7 20-8-1-20 '19-1-6-5 8-1-22-5-14' 25-15-21 3-1-12-12 20-8-5 3-9-20-25.**_

 _ **23-1-9-20-9-14-7.**_

 _ **23-1-20-3-8-9-14-7 1-12-12 15-6 20-8-15-19-5 23-8-15 3-1-12-12 20-8-5-13-19-5-12-22-5-19 '23-1-18-18-9-15-18-19 15-6 20-8-5 12-9-7-8-20'.**_

 _ **20-15 20-8-5 20-15-23-5-18, 20-8-5 3-15-14-19-5-14-19-21-19, 20-8-5 22-1-14-7-21-1-18-4, 1-14-4 20-8-5 19-16-5-1-11-5-18 23-5, 3-25-16-8-5-18-19 4-5-12-9-22-5-18 25-15-21 1 23-1-18-14-9-14-7.**_

 _ **23-5 23-9-12-12 18-9-19-5 1-7-1-9-14 19-20-18-15-14-7-5-18, 20-8-1-14 25-15-21 18-5-13-5-13-2-5-18 21-19.**_

 _ **1-14-4 23-8-5-14 25-15-21-18 3-9-20-25 1-14-4 20-18-1-22-5-12-5-18 9-19 15-14 20-8-5 22-5-18-7-5 15-6 2-5-9-14-7 20-1-11-5-14 5-24-16-5-3-20 14-15 8-5-12-16 6-18-15-13 21-19.**_

 _ **20-8-9-19 9-19 20-8-5 16-18-9-3-5 25-15-21 23-9-12-12 1-12-12 16-1-25 6-15-18 25-15-21 4-9-4 23-8-1-20 25-15-21 4-9-4 20-15 21-19!**_ **]**

 ***Transmission ends***

 **Me: Prophet, what was that?**

 **Prophet: I don't know, but from what I can tell, this is a ciphered message. Has to be a letter-to-number simple substitution cipher. I can't pick off any coordinates or broadcast origin from it. It's almost as though whoever's transmitting this is covering up their tracks.**

 **Me: Can you decrypt it?**

 **Prophet: I can't do it immediately. Remember, I have the same mental limitations as you humans. All Ghosts do.**

 **Me: *Sighs frustratingly* I guess it will have to wait. Prophet, just decipher what you can in time for the next chapter. Let's get on with what Spectre and Reaper will go through. Also, I apologize for this chapter taking way too long to write. I had a lot going downhill after the last update and that I'm comparing my previous attempts at writing dates to this one now.**

 _ **Chapter VII: Something to Remember**_

* * *

 _Exodus Park, the City_

Why the hell do I feel nervous? Is it because I'm pretty much going out with someone for the first time since two years ago? Or is it something I fear? Guess it's because I need to open up now, for Reaper to better know me. Not a lot of people know me better under the 'Greatest Titan among other Titans', 'Protégé/second-in-command to Commander Zavala' and 'Leader of one of the most respected Fireteams and groups under the Vanguard' titles. Well, scratch the 'not a lot of people know me' thing, because it's only two people. And one of them is dead.

The sun's about to set on the City, and here I am waiting in the City's central park located directly below the Traveler. As I sat on a bench, dressed in casual wear; comprising of jeans, a red shirt and an unzipped black Harrington jacket with the collar popped up, I looked up at the one who gave us the ability to use the Light as a weapon and faintly smiled. As much as I owe the Traveler a lot for everything I've done in my time as a Guardian, there's still more I have yet to do. Thank the Traveler that I was able to convince Zavala that Lightning was a friendly and a sister I haven't seen in a long time. But Ikora…even though I respect Warlocks, Ikora's particular fondness for sticking her nose into others' businesses is invading and just plain wrong. Now she's suspicious of Lightning.

Earlier today, Reaper told me we would meet in Exodus Park─the one I'm in right now─right after she was done with something going on in the Cosmodrome. Based on comms with her, it sounded like Taken were advancing on the City and Fireteam Gulch needed help from Dragon. And Lightning was there, of course. At least I don't have to face her with what I'm doing right now. At least Silver knows what's going on, and he said he'd keep his mouth shut about it after I'm done tonight.

As the minutes passed by, some of the park-goers saw me and started asking for photos and autographs. There were the occasional girls that wanted to go out with me, but I fabricated the story that I was here on leave and not here on a date with another Guardian. There was even a little kid with his parents who wanted to be a Guardian like me when he grows up. I ruffled his hair and told him that when the time comes, he can be one of us. Heh, guess this is the fame and recognition a Guardian gets for taking out the Black Garden and continued to defend the City against the likes of Crota and Skolas, and not just by fellow Guardians. Plus, I heard it's rare for Guardians to be in the City, regardless of being on duty or not. Maybe it's because that our Ghosts are literally hovering over our shoulders since they have no place to hide.

"Not to sound like a guy desperate for a date, but do you think she ditched us?" I asked my Ghost, to which his shell clicked and whirred as he pondered on the question.

 **"Not really. C'mon Spectre, how long have we known each other? I know how long your patience can be, outside of people ignoring you like what happened to 20."**

"…Good point."

"Hey, sorry I'm late!" I turn my head from the bench. Well, here she is. I got up from the bench. Like me, Reaper decided to dress in her own casual wear; gray bomber jacket, boots and jeans with her hair draped over her shoulders. Rex hovered over her left shoulder like Primus. "How long have you waiting for me?"

Primus and I traded looks before I looked back at her. "Don't worry. You made us wait for about half an hour, but it's understandable based on what you were doing."

 **"Yeah, busy deciding what to wear for the date tonight."** Rex joked, causing Reaper to go into another of her flusters.

"These are the only things I have!"

"And here I thought waiting was boring." I said, causing the Huntress and her Ghost to look at me.

"Oh? And just what were you doing while you were waiting for me?"

"Just the usual: signing autographs and taking pictures with fans, even giving a little kid some motivation to be a Guardian like us." I joked, faintly smirking.

"Feeling like a celebrity after everything you did for the City?" I hear her joke, cracking a warm smile.

I crossed my arms. "Not really. A lot of the City's citizens look up to us Guardians, and not just me and you."

"You're right on that part," she pulled an apple and another of her knives out of her bomber jacket and started cutting it, then popping a slice in her mouth. "We're here now, so what are we going to do on this beautiful night?"

Okay, now I feel that she just stole the words right out of my head. _Isn't that what guys should say on their date, or am I taking it the other way around?_

 **[** _ **Actually, both sides of the date can say that. But she beat you to the punch on saying it.**_ **]** Primus answered in my thoughts, and right there and now I mentally facepalmed.

 _Since when do you know how this type of thing works!?_

 **[** _ **How else would I know how it works?**_ **]** Dammit, I forgot: Epsilon told him based on her and her partner's experiences with me and Primus. How could spending time with the one woman I loved fly over my head…oh wait. Now I remember.

"Actually, there's a small restaurant near Exodus. Been there a couple of times."

"Let's go, then."

I gesture for her to follow me, leading the way with her at my side. As I focus to find the restaurant─been quite a while since I was last there, I might add─, my memories of my time with Vesper started to surface. I remember when we had our dates, always started like this, then went for either a restaurant or a simple walk under the park. It's not just the First Curse that retains memories of her, but also of many other things. But there's more to the handcannon I simply refuse to use anymore and leave on my bedside table to collect dust. More than just having the memory of killing her out of being forced.

"Is everything okay, Spectre? You seem spaced out."

I turn to face her stone-colored gaze. "Before this? Well, dealing with Rez's crap─as usual, training new Guardians who were fortunate enough to stumble onto the Ancient Vanguard, sorting out a Sparrow power core I may or may not have destroyed for Amanda in time for SRL, I can just go on. Oh, and the fact I had to clear something up with a new Guardian."

"New?"

"Well, not exactly new. They were coming in from the Reef after spending a long time in the Vestian Outpost, and they have never been to the Tower in that time."

"That explains the ship hovering over the plaza when I got back from the Cosmodrome, and the fact that I heard you were called to the hangar to see what was going on."

"Zavala was just about to kick them out of the Tower, but I intervened before he could." Okay, thank the Traveler that I stopped myself short of saying that it was my sister. Then she would be asking a lot of questions.

"Friend of yours?"

"You could say that," again, I glanced over at the Huntress as we walked down the path, avoiding the gaze of most City civilians that would recognize me. "So what about you? What's your side of the story? Aside from dealing with Taken in the Cosmodrome."

A small chuckle with a shake of her head. "Outside of that, nothing much. Still keeping my hunting skills at top form, trying to not be Taken with the help of the prototype you gave me yesterday, being a watcher in the dark to new Guardians out in the Cosmodrome, that type of thing."

"Trying to avoid attention with the new Guardians?"

"More of a 'hidden ally' thing." Okay, that just plain old reminds me of the Stranger, though I'm not sure about comparing the two with one another.

After spending a few more minutes walking, we found our way to the restaurant in question. It was a small establishment, sitting along the road like most of the buildings here and attracted quite a few. I used to go here frequently during my earlier days as a Guardian, but that dwindled down to like once or twice a month now. Guess that's a letdown of all the recognition I have now.

"For all the times I've been to this part of the City, I never saw this before." I hear Reaper gasp in awe, taking in the appearance of the restaurant.

"Not a lot of people go down here. From what I know, this place serves a lot of Guardians fortunate to come here. It's not common for the civilians here."

"Been here before?"

I nod. "A lot during my earlier days as a Guardian. It might not be well known, but the food they serve here and their service are spot-on from my own experiences." Here, I think I just made Reaper very interested in the restaurant. I can just tell from her body language.

"Let's go then. I'm hungry."

For some reason, I smile. I don't know why, but it feels like Vesper never left, and is still here with me. "Shall we?"

* * *

"Look who it is! The big man himself!" one of the waiters called out as soon as I entered the restaurant, and I gave a two-fingered salute back. "How long has it been, Spectre?"

"By my count, it's been two or so months since then, Matt." Knowing Matt, he was probably expecting me. I _am_ one of his valued Guardian customers after all.

"Who's the lovely lady, Spectre?" he flashed one of his signature grins, and I saw Reaper's face turn a slight red upon hearing the comment. "I thought you were the type that would stand on their own without a woman."

Ignoring that comment, I turned to face the Bladedancer. "Reaper, this is Matt. Matt, this is Reaper."

"As in the Predator?"

Reaper sprung to life when the waiter mentioned her title. "How'd you─?"

"Matt was a former Hunter," I explain. "We both met in the Iron Banner, but as it turns out, we met during the Sepiks Prime strike when I was still a new Titan."

"Been kicking ass in the Iron Banner, till someone decided to call me a cheater because I was just doing my job on my side of the team!" he stuck another of his toothpicks in between his teeth like a cigarette, chewing on it to deal with that incident, "Was banned from the Tower after a lot of real bad juju after the Iron Banner last September─and I'm not talking about that Pulse Rifle─and a very bad injury that my Ghost couldn't heal, so I decided to stay here in the City."

"And that's why you made me your personal Iron Banner moneymaker. Because I'm so damned unstoppable with a 3.0 and above K/D Ratio?" knowing Matt, he probably just realized he got burned. So I may not have the best punchlines and puns, sue me.

"But enough talk of the past. It's good to see you, buddy." He directed the two of us to an open table, not that there was anyone else around the place aside from the employees and me and Reaper. We sat down, and Matt handed the both of us menus. "Just the usual, Spectre?"

"Chicken salad, with a vodka martini." I reminded him, looking over at Reaper while she skimmed through the menu. "Matt, get the martini right this time. I told you again and again, _shaken_ ; not _stirred_." I cringed when I recalled the times Matt brought me a vodka martini that was the complete opposite of what I asked. Had to avoid drinking stirred martini for days after I take a drink from it.

"Got you this time," he took note of my order, then looked over at my date, "And you, ma'am?"

She closed the menu. "Tonjiru with the same drink, just with gin, an olive and stirred."

My jaw slightly hung open, but I quickly closed it shut to avoid looking like an idiot instead of a renowned Guardian. Not because of Reaper taking the complete opposite of my normal martini with vodka, a thin lemon slice and shaken, but that…

That's the exact same martini that Vesper had when we went out to dinner, down to using gin and being stirred.

Snap out of it, Spectre! It's just a coincidence! Has to be…

"It'll be ready in a bit. I'll let you two have your time." Matt began to walk away and to tell the cooks of the order, leaving the two of us be. Feeling bold enough, I started to talk to Reaper.

"How long were you known as the 'Predator', Reaper?"

"Not very long. Seeing as I was a stealthful Hunter before I got my nickname, I just grew out of it since the other Guardians started calling me that during the strikes I participated in," she looked over at her Ghost hovering above her shoulder, then back at me, "What about you? You weren't always known as the Hive Conqueror or the Swarm Culler. You earned that title right at the anniversary of when the City first stood."

"I guess you're right on that part. I went by a lot of different names; 'Hotshot', 'Untouchable', 'Bull's Eye' and 'Brawler', to name a few, mostly for my knack of using red and black shaders and just charging right into the heat of battle and making it out alive," if there was a Titan's equivalent of Ikora during her younger years, I'd guess it'd be me. Not biased here. "Over the course of Year 1, I began to change. Instead of depending on myself, I began to rely on Silver and Rez─even though he's just a plain old sore loser in the Crucible─, even depend on other Guardians if the three of us can't get the job done."

"Why did you change from red and black to just plain black?"

I bit my tongue before I spoke. Even if it was four years since I killed Vesper─two years prior to Year 1 and now four─, her death kept on haunting me over the course of Year 1. I guess you can say it's a Guardian's equivalent of mourning at a funeral. Vesper's death is a wound that will never heal as long as I live. Even if I try to forget, it's a scar on myself.

"…I guess you could say it was because of me wanting to try one color instead of two. Started with Superblack, and after the Festival of the Traveler, The Old Guard."

"You earned it."

"Three medals of honor after defending the City from the Black Garden, Crota and Skolas, a distinguished service cross, plus earning a place in the Hall of Guardians among Zavala, Ikora and Cayde while representing an official group approved by the Speaker? I'd say that's more than what I should've earned." I paused for a bit, recalling the various medals and awards I earned from the Festival of the Traveler that are on my wall back in my room. Rez and Silver earned the same things after the Crumble of the Black Garden, but we still stuck as a team. "But really, all those times to me seem like they were just nothing. Just duty."

"They do mean something!" I was taken aback by Reaper's sudden protest against what I thought were nothing more than small feats. "No other Guardian I know has successfully defended the City from threats on three separate occasions throughout the year or earned a spot in the Hall of Guardians!"

"What I meant by that is that while it _is_ something worthy of a legend, my point of view differs on that subject. Not because I hate it, mind you, but because of how many times I fought over and over for the sake of the Traveler and the City. And that, to me, is just a small step towards something greater. There's yet more to come, and a lot of obstacles with this new threat."

"Spoken like Zavala," she warmly smiled, propping an arm on the table to support her hand on her face. Right now, it feels like both her being here and my memories of Vesper are starting to blur, but I have to remember that Vesper is not here. "You never shoot to miss, do you?"

"Not even once. Not now, and not ever."

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a blur of blonde hair with red highlights pass by the window of the restaurant. Oh great. Now _she_ knows. As though there was a whiplash, the figure turns around and leaves. I sunk in my seat a little bit, knowing what'll happen once I get back to the Tower. Soon after, Matt approached the table with our drinks ready. He places them on our respective sides of the table and tells us that our food will be ready in a bit before leaving.

I took a sip from my drink, hoping to expect the flavor I wanted. After taking the risk of probably not drinking vodka martinis for weeks, I smirked and set the glass down on the table. Guess Matt got it right this time after all… It's shaken, just the way I like it.

"…I think I'll call that one a vesper."

"Because of the sweetness when you drink it, then comes the bitter aftertaste?" Reaper finished taking a sip from her martini, looking at me as soon as she's finished. What's up with people who I trust more than enough in the battlefield saying things that my lover had said when she was alive? Now that I look at Reaper's face, my vision started to blur and I saw half of her face replaced with Vesper's.

"Because once you've tasted it, you won't drink anything else." I said, not paying attention to what I said. Reaper gives me a look that clearly says 'what are you talking about?' all over it. I quickly apologized about the whole thing and proceeded to take another sip from my martini.

Just in the nick of time, Matt comes in and brings our food. After we got it, we took our time eating it and discussed things over our experiences during Year 1, such as us working alone on the battlefronts before I got roped into a Fireteam that would later be known as Nero Bianco and how we were able to hold off on our own against the Fallen and the Hive on multiple occasions in the same year. Odd… After all this time in which I wouldn't tell anyone about what happened to me two years prior to the start of Year 1, especially to someone I only knew a little over a week ago and started to trust. I was lightening my load that I had carried since Vesper's death. And right now, it feels like I'm talking to Vesper about the hardships and obstacles I've faced throughout Year 1 instead of Reaper. But of course, I'm not actually telling Reaper that I had killed a fellow Huntress out of being forced to.

Matt came by after we finished eating, and he passed me the bill. And oddly like when we first met a week ago, Reaper had Rex open up her Glimmer storage unit to pay. I stopped her before she started pouring fistfuls of the currency into Matt's hand and told her I would cover it this time. Remembering what happened when Banshee declined her amount of Glimmer for Starfall, she pouted and started putting the cubes back into her storage unit.

Heh, maybe I was long overdue for a small change this time around…

 _ **-Destiny-**_

After parting ways as soon as we got back to the Tower, I began the journey back to my quarters in the Tower and made a beeline. Knowing this time of the night, Rez was already asleep and Silver was either studying the work made by Toland and Ikora or collaborating with 20/20 on the 2.0 materials for the Taken membrane. After the success of the field tests that Reaper took─yes, my field test armor was busted, and that the data got corrupted somehow─, the other Guardians started to utilize them and the team Silver was working with began creating variations of the field tests that Reaper and I used. Yes, they're still in the prototype stage, but we need the protection from the membrane.

I walked into the living room, which is now 100% free from that membrane that Silver got. The lamp was dimly lit, almost as though it activated automatically. Yawning, I proceeded to get a glass of water and started pouring myself a glass.

"Where were you?"

Sighing, I put the ice-cold pitcher down on the table as soon as I heard the slide of a sidearm cocking and I put my hands up. I turned around to face Lightning, who aimed her relic CP99 at me as though I was intruding. Relax, she doesn't need to know…

"I was out for a break. Thought I would get some breathing time from what's been going on."

She lowered her sidearm to her side, and I knew that was a signal for me to stop looking like an idiot and put my hands down. I continued to pour water from the pitcher until the glass was full. I offered her a glass as well and she accepted my offer, the two of us sitting down at the table after I handed her a glass and looking at each other face to face like brother and sister.

"You still hate the Cyphers, do you?"

I tightened my grasp around my glass tightly, making sure I didn't break it with the strength I have. "Why do you think I refuse to stay with them for more than thirty seconds when giving my report?"

"Look, you're not the only one who hates the Cyphers for a reason. Why do you think they sent me away from you and out in the Reef among the Awoken?"

"You have a point. But tell me: after you were forced to kill someone you loved ever so dearly, would you take on a mission by the people who ordered you around? The ones who taught you everything you need to know about survival?"

Lightning took a large drink from her glass, setting it down and thinking. "I wouldn't."

"Exactly." I got up from my chair and started to walk to my room to sleep.

"So who was the girl you were out with?"

Not wanting to talk about it─plus that I'm getting tired─, I only gave one answer after I opened the door. "Goodnight, Light." I closed the door on her.

* * *

"The Taken were just the beginning…"

An eerie figured loomed over the table where Cayde, Ikora, Zavala and Spectre did their Vanguard duties, three dull green lights blazing to life. She rests a hand on the side of the table where the Ancient Vanguard leader did his duties, fingers brushing against a formation on the table to indicate an emblem or insignia that was resting there imprinted.

"Almost a century has passed…yet their determination to return is present here." The green glow normally associated with the Hive dimly shone on the emblem imprinted on the surface of the table.

"One of them is here, among us…hiding in sheep's clothing. But will he bring us more despair like the Disgraced One had delivered us long ago?" the shadow looming over the table recognized the emblem's design. There was no doubt about the origins of the emblem. She could see where the emblem's design came from, even if it was altered in any way.

"Or will he be the one to bring us hope? Hope not from the Light, but from the pits of the Darkness itself? Hope, and the path to slaying Oryx for good and bring us to a second Golden Age?"


	8. VIII: Infiltrating the Impossible

**Prophet: Link, I managed to do as you said…even though the original transmission itself erased itself after broadcasting. See? Told you someone's covering up their tracks.**

 **Me: Well? What were you able to find out?**

 **Prophet: From what I was able to remember after the broadcast erased itself, this was all I was able to get.**

 ***Prophet opens a hologram***

 **[WE ARE THE CYPHERS.**

 **THE ABSOLUTION DIRECTIVE IS COMING.**

 **THE TOWER, THE CONSENSUS, AND THE VANGUARD WILL PAY FOR WHAT THEY DID TO US.**

 **15-14-5 15-6 21-19 19-20-1-14-4-19 1-13-15-14-7 20-8-1-20 '19-1-6-5 8-1-22-5-14' 25-15-21 3-1-12-12 20-8-5 3-9-20-25.**

 **23-1-9-20-9-14-7.**

 **23-1-20-3-8-9-14-7 1-12-12 15-6 20-8-15-19-5 23-8-15 3-1-12-12 20-8-5-13-19-5-12-22-5-19 '23-1-18-18-9-15-18-19 15-6 20-8-5 12-9-7-8-20'.**

 **20-15 20-8-5 20-15-23-5-18, 20-8-5 3-15-14-19-5-14-19-21-19, 20-8-5 22-1-14-7-21-1-18-4, 1-14-4 20-8-5 19-16-5-1-11-5-18 23-5, 3-25-16-8-5-18-19 4-5-12-9-22-5-18 25-15-21 1 23-1-18-14-9-14-7.**

 **23-5 23-9-12-12 18-9-19-5 1-7-1-9-14 19-20-18-15-14-7-5-18, 20-8-1-14 25-15-21 18-5-13-5-13-2-5-18 21-19.**

 **1-14-4 23-8-5-14 25-15-21-18 3-9-20-25 1-14-4 20-18-1-22-5-12-5-18 9-19 15-14 20-8-5 22-5-18-7-5 15-6 2-5-9-14-7 20-1-11-5-14 5-24-16-5-3-20 14-15 8-5-12-16 6-18-15-13 21-19.**

 **THIS IS THE PRICE YOU WILL ALL PAY FOR YOU DID WHAT YOU DID TO US!]**

 **Prophet: To be truthful, I find what I've deciphered to be already disturbing. There are…things out there, whoever broadcasted this, are already spiteful of the City and the Vanguard.**

 **Me: Agreed. Plus, 'The Absolution Directive'? That doesn't sound good… Same drill as before, Prophet: decipher what you can in time for the next one. And as for this chapter based on 'The Dreadnaught' mission, I will be splitting it into two pieces due to how exhausting it is to play the mission for details and everything. Enough talk, let's get into it.**

 _ **Chapter VIII: Infiltrating the Impossible**_

* * *

"Okay, can _somebody_ explain how the hell did we get here?"

"How the hell are you one of Spectre's Fireteam members if you're complaining too much?" The Sunstriker stared into the abyss underneath them, then over the chasm between them and where a Hive Wizard hovered over the other side, taunting them just by hovering over the edge.

"I think the more appropriate phrase is, 'why the hell are you complaining if you knew how to modify stealth drives?'." Silver looked around the area he and his Fireteam was located in, bright blue optics scanning over everything to find another path across the chasm. "And I quote a certain Ghost, 'we're just stuck here with no ship _and_ no transmat zone'."

 **"Really feeling the attention, Silver."** Primus sourly retorted.

"You live and learn with what you got, sis, because beggars can't be choosers." Spectre scanned over the area, his customized handcannon at the ready. Even if Primus could be able to sense hidden objects, something about this place became unsettling the instant they landed. Even if it was the Hive's ship they're on.

"Even if they're complete wimps?"

Spectre turned to face Lightning. "Don't underestimate someone if they're complaining too much. Rez might look the part, but he's one hell of a sharpshooter…outside the Crucible, that is."

"A fact that I will… Hey!" Rez immediately caught on the Titan's insult, pointing one of his knives at him. However, he put it down in the fear of having the two punch him in the face again.

"Admit it, you killed yourself and July with a sniper round. And not on the same day, I may add."

"Okay, I get it!" Rez screamed, throwing his hands in the air. "You don't need to add more salt to injury!"

"Yes, I do have a need to do so… _If you're going to keep acting like an asshole!_ "

"Then stop with the punches to my pride!"

Under his helmet, Spectre rolled his eyes and gave up. He then threw a boot at Rez's gut, causing him to bend over and Spectre threw him over the chasm.

 _"NOT AGAAAAAAAAAIIIIINNNNN!"_ Rez bellowed as he plummeted into the darkness of the chasm, the Wizard watching as the Hunter helplessly get swallowed into the abyss within its ship.

"Oh, and do me a favor and tell me how deep that chasm goes!" Spectre called out into the abyss, receiving a single 'SCREW YOU!' in response. He shrugged as Church materialized next to him and faced Lightning. "Well, what _are_ we doing here anyway?"

The Sunstriker exhaled defeatingly. "Don't tell me that you forgot why we're here."

"It was a joke. _Of course_ I know why we're here."

"Then explain it."

 _Earlier…_

 **"Spectre? Spectre!"** Primus hovered over the form of the sleeping Sunbreaker, who was breathing heavily and thrashing about. Much to the Ghost's amazement, Spectre wasn't responding at all even though he was a light sleeper and didn't take loud noises lightly. He started to notice sweat begin to bead on his partner's forehead, and already Primus knew that Spectre was trapped in another nightmare.

"…No… I can't… I won't…!"

 **"SPECTRE!"** the Ghost screamed in the Titan's ear, but still he continued to thrash about and relive the nightmares. In his nightmare fueled trance, his arm sent the Ghost away from him, sending him into the table where the dust-collecting First Curse laid. **"I'm sorry Spectre, but I gotta do this…!"** the Ghost opened a holographic interface and started to select random commands that would seem ridiculous, until he selected a final one.

The roar of an Ahamkara blasted out of Primus's night-colored shell, the majestic yet terrifying scream of the creature roaring in the room, and most painfully, right in Spectre's ear.

The leader of the Ancient Vanguard escaped from the prison of his nightmares and sat straight up, the sweat now pouring down on him as a last scar from the prison of his past he suffered. Primus inched away from his partner, the blue 'eye' in the center of his black shell being the light on Spectre's face. He turned to Primus and grabbed the Ghost by the shell, growling at his prey.

"Primus…"

 **"Please don't burn off a part of my shell! I'm too good-looking to have a part burned off!"**

"…Thanks." The Sunbreaker let go of his Ghost, confusing the machine made by the Traveler's dying breath. "Thanks for using Dmitri's signature sound when he uses Dragon's Landing."

 **"I didn't want to do it, but you were in another nightmare."** Primus informed, watching as his partner sat at the side of the bed and press his hands to his face to forget what happened. While the two were partners, Primus knew the level of PTSD Spectre was suffering from, and the trauma of the realization of what he had done. Spectre's mental stability wasn't exactly as…stable…as it should be for a leader. Even if he had put up the façade that he was fine, but the terrible truth lay beneath that veil that a lot of Guardians never broke through.

"So why'd you wake me up?"

 **"It's Cayde."**

The mere mention of the Hunter Vanguard's name sent a wave of disgust towards the Titan, especially after the little 'errand' he ran for Cayde. Spectre pinched the bridge of his nose, waking his eyes up with that single gesture as he got out of bed. He walked over to the glass door that lead to the balcony on his part of the quarters and looked outside. Snow began to fall, and the snowflakes began to gather out on his balcony. The moon, waxy silver as ever, shone light in his room, soon illuminating his face the moment he stood before the glass door.

However, just as Spectre saw his reflection, he didn't grow remorseful of what he saw. Even so, he wasn't sure what was real and what was a product of his trauma anymore when he was alone. He simply stared at himself. Because his reflection stared back at him, but his eye that wasn't covered by his blonde locks warped into the same gold color that he saw on Vesper's face before she died.

 _"Spectre…"_ (A/N: Just to have a feeling to this following scene, play Aerith's Theme from _FFVII: Advent Children_. Right now, I'm comparing Spectre and Vesper to Cloud and Aerith because of the pain and suffering both Cloud and Spectre share… Screw it. Use it every time Vesper shows up!)

From his reflection, he saw a hand resting on his shoulder, which traveled down his forearm and found its place in his hand. Following the gentle hand on his shoulder was a face he knew all too well. Vesper stood at his side, resting her head on his shoulder lovingly and holding his hand in hers.

"Vesper…" the Sunbreaker put his head down and stared at the floor, his dead lover faintly smiling and holding him tighter. "Why'd you have to go? You were everything to me, but I─!"

 _"Enough,"_ she shushed him, nuzzling her head into the Titan's arm. _"I've heard it many times to know what conclusion you're trying to reach. I know how much you blame yourself for it all. It hurt you. Broke what leftover hope you had of trying to wish it didn't happen."_

Spectre tilted his head to have their heads meet, even though he was talking to a ghost of the woman he loved. He never knew why, but every time Vesper was here with him, her ghostly presence felt _real_ to him. Like she was still here, among the living. But in reality, the song-like voice she had, the beauty worthy of a goddess, and the melodious laugh he grew to love was all a hallucination after he killed her.

"You knew how much I would never hurt you, not even if we had known each other the moment we met as kids," he squeezed her hand, glancing up at the reflection and wore a frown on his face. "I spent four years running. Running from the memory of the day I had to kill you out of my own free will. But every time I ran away from it, it comes back stronger than before, and I guess I gave up on running away. I let the void swallow me whole, leaving me to drown in the memories of that day."

 _"But what about everything you've done?"_ asked the spirit of Spectre's love, letting go of his arm and standing in front of him. She placed her hand on his scar-torn cheek, tracing her index finger along it and frowned. _"The Black Garden, Atheon, Skolas, and then Crota. Do they mean nothing to you? You're a Guardian, Spectre. A Titan. A wall in which the Darkness breaks. A lot of Guardians, both old and new, look up to you. You're a shining example of what makes a true Guardian."_

"…They meant something for a while. Instead of helping me forget it all, they only held it back. I was a wall in which the Darkness breaks, but it all crumbled," he looked at Vesper and caressed her cheek, brushing strands of her hair aside with his thumb. "I don't know anymore… Some leader I turned out to be, huh? What kind of leader still mourns after all this time?"

 _"I know how much it hurts,"_ Vesper places a hand over Spectre's heart, clearly frowning and closing her eyes. _"Being a hero to the City, and yet, feeling like a criminal who killed one of their fellow Guardians. And it was me that's been the source of it all."_

"Vesper…"

 _"You won't stop beating yourself up because of my death. Every day, every night, even every waking moment you remember my death by your hand. You're not the man I loved for the most part. And it's because of your guilt that you won't return to normal again."_

"I just want to be myself again, but I will never get that chance. All because of me."

A tear began to fall from Vesper's face, looking down at the floor. _"Spectre, I've said this before, and I will not hesitate to say it again, so promise me something."_

"Promise you…?"

 _"Promise me that you'll move on. I don't want the man I love to suffer for the rest of his life as a miserable, emotionless killing machine."_ Vesper rested her head against her lover's chest, letting the tears fall without audibly crying. Spectre held her close, stroking her hair as she let them fall before looking into his eyes. _"You're better than that. You gave me the gift of happiness when I was rejected by everybody else, and I don't want it all to fall apart because of my death. Please, Spectre, just let it go. It's no use being stuck in the past."_

The Titan bowed his head and continued to hold the dead spirit of his lover close. _But if I let it go, then what will I remember of you? You were the only one that made me happy. No one else. I don't want my memories of you to fade away to nothing._ "…I can't guarantee that I'll let it go, but the least I can do is try," he lifted Vesper's chin with his finger, gazing into her eyes regretfully and lovingly. "I didn't want what happened that day to happen, but I couldn't say no to the Cyphers. You know how they are."

 _"You never really changed in some aspects, didn't you?"_ Vesper felt her lover wipe her tears off her cheeks, and she warmly smiled. _"That's what I love about you. Even through times like now, you still manage to have some of the old you show."_ Vesper then gave the Sunbreaker a peck on the cheek, taking a step back and smiling. Just five seconds into her smile, she began to fade away, and by the time Spectre blinked, she was gone. Vanished, faded away into the night like the ghost she is.

Primus hovered at the sidelines, watching his partner continue to stand close to the glass door. He dared not to get close to him, nor get his attention during the state he's in. He felt sorry for Spectre, having to suffer and yet, talk to illusions of his dead lover conjured from his PTSD.

"Primus, what does Cayde want now?"

Spectre's Ghost hovered over to his shoulder, shell whirring and clicking. **"Cayde has another unorthodox mission for you, and he wants you to meet him in the hangar. Oh, and he doesn't want you to talk to him through comms channel. Zavala and Ikora might catch on, and we might be restricted from leaving the Tower."**

"Typical of him. Sending a Titan to do some Hunter's work, especially with a Titan like me…" he turned towards his desk, where his Titan armor was resting, waiting for another day of being used. "Primus, tell Cayde that I'll be there in 30 minutes."

 **"Got it."**

 _ **-Destiny-**_

"Look who decided to show up!"

"Cayde, I swear if there isn't a good reason for waking me up at three in the morning, I'm not doing anymore 'errands' for you as long as you're still the Hunter Vanguard." Spectre growled, just waiting for the opportunity when he'd show Cayde some manners to a busy Guardian like him.

Normally, during the day, the hangar would be alive with a lot of machines and frames working on repairing the Guardians' ships as well as storing them. But tonight? The hangar was entirely empty, save for the ships suspended mid-air with supports that the frames would use to repair them and the Vanguards. The only light in the hangar was from the moonlight, shining down on the two while they blended in with the dark of the night.

"Hey, hey, no need to be all prickly," Cayde jested like normal, playing around with a wrench in his hand. "Besides, this'll probably be the last errand from me you'll have to worry about."

"And why's that?" the Titan crossed his arms, staring at the Exo. "Because if it means losing my spot in the Hall of Guardians, I'm putting you to blame for that. That, and make you pay me Glimmer to compensate that loss."

"Yeowch. Which is exactly why I called you out here at this time."

He paced around one of the ships suspended by the supports, pointing the wrench at it. Even if it was dark right now, Spectre could identify the ship Cayde was pointing towards. An eerie green glow, and decorated with bones… To Spectre's knowledge, there were only two ships that were rewarded to him from Eris after slaying Crota that match this one. But there was Eris's emblem imprinted on the nose of the ship. That meant two things.

And none of them were good.

"What the hell are you up to?! Eris will kill us!"

"That's why I had you get the stealth drive from my stash. Knowing the Hive, they'll pass off Eris's ship as one of their own…since it reeks like one."

"No kidding." Second the Titan, glad that his helmet had a filtration system to filter out the smell coming out of Eris's ship.

"So here's the plan: you fly to Saturn's rings, get in the Dreadnaught, take out that weapon that wiped out the Awoken, set up a transmat zone, and send in the calvary!"

"You make it sound simple, yet in reality, it becomes complicated as we progress in the mission."

Cayde handed Spectre the wrench, and as soon as the tool got in his hands, he immediately thought of swinging it and knocking out the Hunter Vanguard. Instead, he put it down and looked up at Eris's ship. _I swear, Eris will kill me…_ As much as he's a risk taker, he was willing to take the risk this time around…even if the 'vague oracle' will kill him.

"Off you go!"

"I'm not going alone, Cayde. You're coming with me."

"Me?" the Exo pointed to himself, an innocent foolery not effective this time. "I'm not flying that thing, nor going with you."

"He's got a point, Spectre." Both vanguards turned around towards the hangar's entrance. Spectre drew out Skyfall and aimed it at the entrance, but he lowered it.

Standing there, arms crossed and prepared, was the rest of Nero Bianco. Rez, Silver, and Lightning.

"I'm not just gonna stand by and worry where the hell you've been, Spectre," Lightning approached her twin brother, resting a hand on his shoulder. "We're family. And my responsibility as your older sister. You're not going alone."

"You heard every word of this, haven't you?"

"Down to the last breath."

 _Damn her and her tendency for eavesdropping…_ Spectre groaned, looking over at Cayde. He sent off angered daggers at the Hunter Vanguard, and he shrugged. _I swear, this is the last time I'm doing anything that deals with Eris. Thinks he can get away with this… Well, we'll see who has the last laugh when I force him to pay me Glimmer for both the loss of my spot in the Hall of Guardians and if Eris's ship gets destroyed._

The Exo Warlock approached the two Titans, handing the Sunbreaker a device. Just as soon as the device landed in Spectre's hand, it disappeared, adding the familiar weight of the anti-Taken armor prototype he was familiar to. He flexed his knuckles, remembering the articulation being just as good…before he busted it. "Here. It's not up to par with the anti-Taken armor everyone's using right now, but this has to do. Since your armor's already filled up with Exotic perks, I made a compact version for you."

"Wait, aren't you supposed to─"

"Stay out of action for at least another week? Like hell I'd skip out on this one!" Arc energy coursed through the Warlock's palm, turning into a ball of electricity. He brought it to eye level, illuminating the area of the hangar where they stood before crushing it like it was a ball of glass. "Firewing already started a retaliation strike without us on the Moon. Sucks to be them since we'll be launching one of the biggest retaliations in the war on the Taken's home turf."

Even though Rez didn't want to board the Dreadnaught, he gave a two-fingered salute towards his Fireteam leader. And if he thought he could just go back to the quarters and sleep, he's got another thing coming.

"Alright, here's the plan right now: Rez, Silver, swap your ships out for the ones Eris gave us when we slayed Crota. Light, you're going with me. Plain and simple."

"And why should I go with you on a ship that reeks like Hive?"

"Light, this is no time to be picky. As Cayde said, a ship with the scent of a Hive can get us past that weapon. Your _Draught of Nectar_ won't cut it. If you went in with that ship and the three of us with Hive ships, we're going to end up like the Awoken."

Silver, with the help of his Ghost, Alpha, began to swap out his _The Road Unraveled_ to the _Bane of Dark Gods_ gifted to him by Eris, custom built scout rifle and fusion rifle authorized by Ikora being prepared for battle. Rez also did the same thing, swapping his _Kondratyuk's Escape_ to a _Light in the Abyss_ and loading his Last Word and Stillpiercer.

However, just as the rest of Spectre's Fireteam was preparing for the mission, Spectre caught a figure in the corner of his eye. Standing next to Eris's ship was Vesper, hood down and raven hair gently flying about. The apparition caught note of the Titan's sight and warmly smiled, walking towards him.

 _"Good luck."_

He nodded in response. _I will._

 _"Give them hell. You're not known as the Hive Conquerer for nothing. So show them that you'll be their undoing."_

"Spectre?" Again, Vesper had vanished, bringing him back to reality. "How long do we have until we leave?"

The leader of Nero Bianco looked out the open hangar and towards the direction of the silvery moon, then back at the Warlock.

"Wheels up in five!"

 _ **-Destiny-**_

 _Rings of Saturn_

The trio of ships reached the end of their jumpspace, the familiar blue tunnel they all traversed to go beyond Earth leaving their sight as they approached the gas giant known as Saturn. Knowing the entire Fireteam, they had to have passed by Saturn while on their travels to the Reef, so they didn't have time to see the planet in its glory.

Just as soon as the ships lurched forward and brought back to normal space, they were taken aback by the entire planet and its ring. However, there was something that changed. And it stuck out like a sore thumb. Within the inner portion of the ring was a circle large enough to have been made by a detonated space bomb.

But that was no space bomb's doing.

And Fireteam Nero Bianco knew that.

"Unbelievable…"

"Oryx did _that_?" the Sunbreaker gently pushed the lever for the thrusters forward, checking the instruments within Eris's ship and monitoring the stealth drive. "By the Traveler…"

 _"Amen to that, Spectre."_ With the help of Primus, he was able to have a video feed with the Warlock and Hunter that came along with him. Their looks of disbelief and bewilderment were evident, even if they had their helmets on.

 _"All those Awoken… Wiped out like they were baby Ahamkara…"_

At a medium speed, the three ships advanced towards the epicenter of the problem, and as they got closer, they saw what was exactly in the middle of the hole in the ring. The Dreadnaught. And with it, the Taken King. The ships dove under the ring, using the debris and rocks as camouflage as they made their advance.

Primus hovered next to Spectre's shoulder, taking in the carnage and destruction that came with the annihilation of the Awoken fleet. **"It only took one blast from the Dreadnaught."**

 _"When you're through, it'll never fire again,"_ Cayde reminded the Fireteam, looking at the video feed that Primus was feeding to him. _"Just don't forget to plant the transmat link so the other Guardians can land. Not everybody's got stealth tech and a…ship that smells like Hive. Good luck, Nero Bianco."_

Cayde signed off from the comms, leaving the four-man Fireteam to proceed with their unorthodox mission. Just as the ships continued their venture to the Dreadnaught, the remains of the Awoken fleet─both their ships and pilots─came into view. Spectre became sickened at the sight of many good Awoken losing their lives in a single shot. They didn't deserve this, not even Mara. He held a great respect for the Queen of the Awoken, understanding why the Reef isolated themselves before the Tower was given the opportunity to hunt down the House of Wolves. Uldren, in his book, probably deserves such a death for being a royal pain in Nero Bianco's ass.

Spectre turned to face his Ghost, nodding. **"Activating stealth drive."**

Within the second they cleared out of the asteroid field that made up Saturn's ring, the trio of ships vanished in thin air, made effective with the help of the stealth drive. The Hive ship that was a mere hologram when Spectre and his team recovered from the Cabal base now towered over their ships, much like a human towering over an ant. For once, Spectre felt intimidated by the appearance of the ship. And the weapon right in front of them.

 **"I'm picking up fluctuations in the power conduit."**

 _"What? No way, I helped modify the tech to have the three of our ships be cloaked at the same time. Probably just Saturn's radio storms running interference."_ Rez noted, both Guardian at the pilot's seat and his Ghost looking at each other in some form of abstract horror. Rez…and modifying stealth tech.

However, the sound of an alarm rang out in Eris's own ship, followed by a red light coloring the area.

"What the─?!" Spectre looked over at the controls in his panel, checking to see what was going on.

 **"It's malfunctioning!"**

 _"Are you serious?! Did you break the damn thing!?"_

Just as quick as the stealth drive turned on, the cloaking device's effect lifted off of the three ships making their way to the Dreadnaught. _Great, now all of us are sitting ducks…_ Spectre slowed his commandeered ship down to a somewhat crawling speed, Rez and Silver's own ships following the lead ship.

Primus leaned next to Spectre's ear, making a Ghost's version of whispering to a Guardian's ear. **"You think they can see us?"**

"I just hope not…"

However, their hope of not being seen was sent off to the sun to burn. Four beams of light traveled across the surface of the Dreadnaught, making their way to a circular area right before them. Once those beams reached the circle, the entire thing lit up, the familiar, yet menacing color of the Taken dominant over it. And for that, Primus's question was answered.

 **"I think they can see us!"**

"Punch it! Now!" Lightning ordered. Not hesitating for a second, Spectre punched it, and so did Rez and Silver. The Hive ships kicked it into overdrive and started flying away from the weapon, but still in proximity to the Dreadnaught. The trio of ships veered to the right side of the weapon, where Spectre could see a form of entry point for them to land. The hand on the throttle started to tighten, Spectre hearing the faint sound of bones cracking under the pressure.

 _C'mon, c'mon…!_ Spectre kept the overdrive throttle down, praying to the Traveler that they'll make it in time. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the circle that the Dreadnaught used as a weapon start to fill and form into a ball. _Dammit, no!_

And it all ended with a bang.

The weapon had fired again, wiping out the entire Fireteam just as the Awoken fleet before them. The two _Bane of Dark Gods_ and single _Light in the Abyss_ disintegrated and exploded, joining the wreckage of the fleet in corpses or pieces. In a spectacular display of pieces and explosions, the Dreadnaught has proven its power against those weak and foolish enough to infiltrate it.

Or so they thought.

Four shapes appeared within the Trenchway of the Dreadnaught, two of them collapsing upon landing and the other two on their knees kneeling. All of them were breathing heavily, their Ghosts hovering in front of them to analyze the damage they took. Because if it weren't for Primus, Church, Artemis and Alpha, they would all be lost like the Queen and her fleet.

"Goddammit… I thought we were goners."

"Seconded, brother."

"Me three." Silver uttered, looking over at the Hunter and grinning, now that he beat the Nightstalker to the punch.

"Damn you, Silver."

 _"What happened? Everything all right?"_

 **"Why wouldn't we be, Cayde? We're just stuck here with no ship _and_ no transmat zone." ** The Ghost equivalent of Spectre bitterly retorted, shell angrily clicking and grinding at the near-death experience the eight had.

 _"Great. Told you my stealth drive would work."_

"Cayde, I swear when I get back, _I will kill you_." Growled the Ancient Vanguard leader, his fist starting to rage a flame orange.

 _"Yikes. Gotta go before Spectre goes full out dark side mode."_ Once again, the Hunter Vanguard signed off, leaving the four-man Fireteam back to the mission.

After spending a few minutes kneeling, Spectre got back up on his feet. He could feel his energy surging back to him like a storm, and that was all he needed. Lightning already got back on her feet, readying her Empress of the Abyss and pressing two fingers to one of her audio receptors, activating a sonar function in her helmet. A high-pitched sonar wave followed the activation, spreading from their location to within a ten mile radius. Her helmet relayed the information to Spectre's HUD, revealing a rough recreation of schematics to the Hive ship according to the range of her sonar pulse.

 _Great. Just great._ "Looks like we have our work cut out for us."


	9. IX: Light within the Darkness

**Prophet: Link, I don't think I want to continue deciphering the transmission anymore.**

 **Me: What? Why aren't you going to finish it?** _ **Everyone's**_ **dying to know what it is!**

 **Prophet: Take a look.**

 ***Prophet opens hologram***

 **[WE ARE THE CYPHERS.**

 **THE ABSOLUTION DIRECTIVE IS COMING.**

 **THE TOWER, THE CONSENSUS, AND THE VANGUARD WILL PAY FOR WHAT THEY DID TO US.**

 **15-14-5 15-6 21-19 19-20-1-14-4-19 1-13-15-14-7 20-8-1-20 '19-1-6-5 8-1-22-5-14' 25-15-21 3-1-12-12 20-8-5 3-9-20-25.**

 **WAITING.**

 **WATCHING ALL OF THOSE WHO CALL THEMSELVES 'WARRIORS OF THE LIGHT'.**

 **TO THE TOWER, THE CONSENSUS, THE VANGUARD, AND THE SPEAKER, WE CYPHERS DELIVER YOU A WARNING.**

 **WE WILL RISE AGAIN, STRONGER THAN WHEN YOU REMEMBER US.**

 **AND WHEN 25-15-21-18 CITY 1-14-4 TRAVELER IS 15-14 20-8-5 VERGE OF BEING TAKEN, EXPECT NO HELP FROM US.**

 **THIS IS THE PRICE YOU WILL ALL PAY FOR YOU DID WHAT YOU DID TO US!]**

 **Prophet: Now do you see, Link? Whoever they are, they're** _ **hellbent**_ **on revenge on the Tower, the Vanguard, the Speaker and the Consensus. Why didn't the Speaker tell us about something like this?! Clearly, these Cyphers have some history with the Vanguard and the Speaker! Hell, even the entirety of the Tower! And this is more than just a warning; it's a threat!**

 **Me: …You're right. As much as I want to hand this over to the Cryptarchs or the Speaker, I'm worried that these 'Cyphers' will hunt us down and kill us.**

 **Prophet: So what are you gonna do?**

 **Me: …What else will I do? Because once I finish the rest of the transmission, I'll have to find them myself. I don't care how long it will take me, because I will not stand by and watch as the Tower and the City become defenseless without some form of help! *Storms out***

 **Prophet: Link… Well, I guess I have to step in for the meantime. Seeing as Link had some problems with his laptop's battery not charging even though the cable's** _ **clearly**_ **plugged in and with his normal Iron Banner shenanigans/problems this month, I wouldn't blame him… As mentioned by my partner, this will be the second half of the 'Dreadnaught' mission and where it will end for Nero Bianco's mission. I hope I got it right pre-chapter banter, and we'll see you on the next one.**

 _ **Chapter IX: Light within the Darkness**_

* * *

"…And that's pretty much how we got here."

Spectre had finished weaving the whole story of how they got here, Rez now revived and avoiding to say anything that would send him off the edge or worse. Lightning had her arms crossed─as usual since she arrived at the Tower─as Silver had Alpha scan the area for anything that the Hive used to fool Nero Bianco into thinking they were at a dead end. So far, the Warlock and his Ghost didn't find anything. As for the Sunbreaker, he felt the gaze of the Hive Wizard across the chasm tear through the back of his head. Something about it wasn't right…

"At least your head wasn't damaged from the near-death trap we all went through," Lightning lowered her folded arms from her chest and took out Empress of the Abyss from her back, then aiming the scope on the Hive Wizard across from them. "And honestly, I'm sick of having this Wizard hover over the edge and taunting us!"

"Wait, no!"

Spectre's plea to stop his sister from doing something so reckless was silenced as an orb of violent purple light began to accumulate from the barrel of the SUROS ARI-styled auto rifle. If there was one thing that Spectre didn't know about her hand-built weapon, it was that it shared the similar properties of Reaper's Night Predator…in terms of being able to switch between kinetic, Void, Solar and Arc damage on the fly, as well as a select fire function, making it an actual MIDA Multi-Tool. Or in her eyes, a multi-weapon.

The orb on the auto rifle's barrel had grown to the size of his fist until she pulled the trigger. The Void-infused projectile flew from their side of the chasm and towards the Wizard. It split into many smaller versions of itself, to which it impaled themselves onto the form of the Hive enemy.

In the Wizard's eyes, these needle-like projectiles didn't even hurt, even though it tore through its shield. It began to laugh like a witch from the Pre-Golden Age era of legends, the cackle not even remotely close to one but still as terrifying.

Spectre facepalmed. Why did he just get the feeling of jumping off the chasm? "Seriously? That's it? Just sticking Void needles in a Wizard?"

"Not just any Void needles…" She walked over to the edge, a hand extended towards the Wizard. She snapped with her ring finger. As soon as she snapped her fingers, the needles made from the Void had glowed, glowing bright until the needles exploded. The Wizard gave a death screech as it exploded from the needles, disintegrating from existence as a black hole appeared behind it and pulled the body in.

Soon enough, the entire area shrouded itself in the presence of the Taken, and the blights appearing from both sides of the chasm. Taken Thrall emerged from the blights next to the Fireteam, and Taken Wizards and Vandals with Wire Rifles on the other.

Soon enough, Nero Bianco was on their feet, the four of them with their backs against each other as they were surrounded. They had their respective Exotic primaries at the ready, rifles at the aim towards the Wizards and Vandals and handcannons swapping from one Thrall to the next. None of them pulled the triggers yet, since they weren't given the order to fire.

"Just had to shoot that Wizard, did you?"

"That, coming from the Hive Conqueror and the Swarm Culler? I thought you knew which Wizards were normal and which ones would call for back-up."

"How would I know that Wizard would call on the Taken and not the Hive?!"

"Save the sibling argument for later, you two!" Silver calmly butted in, Tlaloc's barrel glowing with Arc Energy. "Right now, we gotta get this over with!"

"C'mon Spectre, give the goddamned order already!" Rez was getting impatient as the swarm of Taken Thrall began to advance on them.

"Rez, don't screw it up this time," Spectre reached for his knife on his hip, hand on the handle but not drawing it out yet. "Silver, Light, take out the Wizards and Vandals. Rez and I will handle the Thrall and blights."

"Right." The Exo aimed Tlaloc's scope at the Vandals while the female Titan focused her sights on the Wizards, hitting the select-fire switch and charging up another Void needle launch.

Rez spun the cylinder on the Last Word, then pointing the handcannon towards the ground. "Taking Thrall out should be easy! Bunch of wimps…"

"Now's the time to show me how much of a leader you became since I last saw you."

Spectre took in the situation one last time, feeling pretty sure of being able to take these Taken on, even though the rest of his Fireteam didn't have any hands-on experience with the Taken Vandals and Thrall. Then again, since when did they become surrounded by a bunch of Thrall? Aside from the Temple of Crota.

 _Inhale, count to four… Exhale, count to four…_ Taking a deep breath, he relaxed his nerves while his hand spun the cylinder of Skyfall. _Clickclickclickclickclickclick…_ The sound of the cylinder felt nothing more than a melody to him. A melody of hell about to break loose. Upon hearing the final click of the spinning cylinder, Spectre opened his eyes.

 _"Weapons free!"_

And the weapons let loose hell.

Lightning's Empress of the Abyss let loose two Void needler shots directed at the two Wizards, tearing through their Void shields and impaling the explosives within them. She need only to snap her fingers and they would all disintegrate before combusting to oblivion. As for the Vandals next to the Wizards, some of the crystal-like Void needles found their way impaled on them, even though their 'Wards of Dawn' protected them against the exploding Wizards. The Warlock aimed at the purple needles, and fired one round at each Vandal. The scout rifle's bullets, like the Void needlers, tore through the bubbles and struck the needles. Like the Wizards, the Vandals suffered an _explosive_ end to their lives.

As for the handcannon-slinging Titan and Hunter, both of them were scoring hits with their Last Word and Skyfall, wiping out the Thrall in rapid succession. While Rez may be using up the bullets in the magazine and using his knife when it was empty, Spectre was using his night-black handcannon as a club of sorts, dazing the Taken that were within breathing range for him and then stabbing them in the chest or head with his knife. Just as the Thrall were cleared out, and the only thing left were the blights, the rivals within Nero Bianco whipped out their JLB 47 and Ash Factory and fired the rockets at the blights across from them. Their Ghosts immediately put their rocket launchers back in their inventory, and returned their handcannons.

"Silver, Hawkmoon!"

The Warlock reached for the handcannon on the lower of his back and threw the weapon at his Fireteam leader. The Sunbreaker caught it and aimed both handcannons at the two blights before pulling the triggers. Within a matter of a second, both handcannons had fired their bonus damage rounds in the chamber, screaming through the air like Hive Boomers until they struck the blights, which combusted as they were torn back to the Taken realm.

Exhaling deeply, the Titan lowered the weapons to his side before spinning Hawkmoon in his hand and holding it by the barrel, handing it back to the weapon's owner. "How's that for leadership?"

"If there was anyone else with a plan like that, I'd say they were showing off by dual-wielding handcannons. But you? You did it without any flaws," under her helmet, Spectre's twin smiled at how far he's gone since the nine years they spent apart. "I'll say it must be because of your training with the new Guardians and each other."

"Just because you're an hour older than me doesn't mean you'll always be the more level-headed," the leader of Nero Bianco walked over to the edge of the chasm, kneeling down to get a good scope of the distance between both sides. "Okay, I'll go on ahead and see if I can find a way to make a path for us. Silver, I'm sending you data of the main points that the weapon focuses on to power itself. I want you, Lightning and Rez to deal with them."

"And how exactly are you gonna get across?" The Hunter questioned. His question was soon answered when his leader broke into a starting run and Lifted off the edge. Spectre only made it halfway until his Lift faded out on him, but not before a grappling hook launched from his right gauntlet attached itself on the other edge, reeling him in and he frontflipped as soon as he was inches away from the edge. "…Showoff."

 _"_ _What was that?! I didn't catch that!"_ Spectre called out from the other side of the chasm.

"YOU'RE A SHOWOFF!" Rez screamed from his side. It wasn't until he saw a red glint from where Spectre stood and a red laser marked on his forehead. "Oh, you son of a─"

 _Boom!_

The Hunter crumpled over and fell face-first over the edge once more, Church hovered where his partner stood and sighed. **"Guardian down…again."**

The Sunstriker sighed defeatingly. "Why am I not surprised?"

"That's Rez in a nutshell for you, Lightning." The Warlock answered.

 _ **-Destiny-**_

Just how long has he spent on this godforsaken Hive ship? It was like wherever he went, it all looked remotely the same. Spectre had that question pondering since he split up from his Fireteam and left them to deal with the weapon.

 **"Do you really think what we did back there was the right choice?"** Primus appeared from his pack for the first time since the Fireteam split up at the chasm, night-black shell continuing its normal clicking and whirring. **"Or is it something else? Something that you need to get off your mind after the nightmare you went through back at the Tower?"**

"Primus…" the Sunbreaker glanced down at his hand, the Solar energy faint as he closed it into a fist. "You know the answer to it all. As long as I live, this nightmare will never cease to haunt me. One where it will continue until my time comes."

 **"You have to stop sulking over it, Spectre,"** his Ghost argued, the blue eye in the middle of its shell glowing bright. **"It's not healthy to keep sulking on the past. You know it, I know it, and everyone in your position knows it! So snap out of it and focus on right now!"**

The duo found themselves in another section of the Dreadnaught, the ambiance more menacing that what he was used to back on the Moon. The area seemed to be about the same area as the Divide in the Cosmodrome, but with Hive architecture and a sort of shrine in the dead middle of it all. All around the shrine was a sickly green mist, and to him, it reminded him of the poison clouds the Wizards used against him and his fireteam.

Based on the sonar data his sister's transmitting and feeding to his HUD, and the ship's schematics he acquired from the World's Grave, he was able to determine that he was within an area on the ship known as the 'Hall of Souls'. So, now what?

"Well, what now?" joked the Sunbreaker, looking at the shrine from where he stood as his Ghost analyzed the area. "Because honestly, I don't think there's any way for me to find a way to make a way for me to regroup with them."

 **"You think?"** Primus's shell whirred as he analyzed the situation presented in front of them. **"And you did it on purpose, didn't you? Separating from the rest of the Fireteam, that is."**

"Guilty as charged," Spectre uttered, putting his hands up as if he was under arrest. "I just didn't want them to catch on that I may be starting to lose my mind to hallucinations of my dead lover."

 **"Great. Should've known you'd get back into the habit of isolating yourself from the rest of the Fireteam. Haven't seen you do it since the strike with Taniks."**

"Which was what, six months since then?"

 **"Five months and twenty-five days."**

"Whatever."

Before the Sunbreaker could get the chance to react further, the entire area began to rumble and shake, almost like an earthquake on the Dreadnaught. Even if Spectre could hold his balance, the violent rumbling of the ship caused him to lose his balance, and with the help of the rumbling increasing, he fell off the edge he stood on. Quickly, he launched his grappling hook at the ledge he fell off of, the claw-like hook grabbing hold of the structure and secured on.

His shoulder slammed against the wall next to him as a result from the sudden stop of his fall, shattering a bit of the armor. A sharp wave of pain coursed through his shoulder, and he cursed under his breath while his HUD in his Duskrender helmet warned him about the sudden vulnerability in his armor. Not only was the impact to his shoulder a painful one, but the fact that his _entire_ arm is extended to support the fact that it's more or less an anchor made it even worse as his arm started to feel like it was being slowly torn off its socket. One of his fingers reached for a tiny button within the palm of his armored glove, and the next instance, the magnetic-powered winch inside his gauntlet pulled him up.

He reached out for the ledge and pulled himself up and over, despite the Dreadnaught still violently shaking. His grappling hook unlatched from the edge and folded itself as the rest of the cable was winded up back into his wrist-mounted gear. He stood far from the edge to prevent himself from falling over the edge again, leaning against one of the walls that looks like a barricade, with a hand covering his shoulder as the rumbling continued. It went on for another twenty seconds until it subsided, the chaos fading away just as it swiftly came.

"Damn…" he lifted a hand from his shoulder, and saw a dark substance on the palm of his hand. "Primus, how bad is it?"

His Ghost began scanning the significant damage he took on his shoulder, the blue glow fading as soon as he finished. **"You're not gonna like this, but some of your armor's plate tore through the protective suit and some of the pieces are lodged in your flesh. Aside from that, you got a broken collarbone. And no doubt from the impact from both the wall and the shards of armor in your shoulder,"** he reported, and the Titan plucked out one of the visible shards sticking out of his shoulder, grunting as he pulled it out. **"Keep that nasty habit up, and you'll have to get a plate or screw to fix your collarbone. And the two of us know how much you hate having plates or screws inside you. Here, I'll administer some anesthetic until we get you back."**

Primus's shell summoned a needle from his shell and carefully injected the anesthetic into his shoulder, nullifying the pain until they get back to 20/20 or the medkit back on his ship. The Titan got back on his feet, moving his hand from his shoulder and shaking the blood off it. From the distance, he saw a swarm of Acolytes, Thrall, and Knights racing towards the exit on the other side.

"Primus, what got them riled up?"

 **"A hull breach in a section of the Dreadnaught. Breach isn't too far from here."**

"Wonderful, as if this mission didn't just become more interesting." And as if there wasn't enough going on, his helmet started ringing an incoming transmission. He tapped the button on his Duskrender.

 _"And just what do you think you're doing on the Dreadnaught, Titan?"_

"Nice to hear from you too, Ta'aan," Spectre sourly greeted the Bracus over comms, making his way across the Hall of Souls and alternating between Lift and wallrunning. "What the hell's going on? There's a hull breach right now!"

 _"That is none of your concern for the moment. All I ask of you right now is temporary cooperation."_

" _What_ temporary cooperation?"

 _"I ask of you to not attack me or the Cabal. Because shoot even one of my own, and I will make sure I will put an end to your streak in the Crucible."_

"Ta'aan…" Spectre stopped dead in his tracks and stood before the exit that the Hive used for the breach. Sitting close to the door was a piece of armor far too big to belong to the Hive. Based on the materials, it had to be…Cabal? "As much as I don't trust the Cabal that shoot at me or my team, I won't even bother trying to shoot at your squad. I sympathize your brothers in arms being Taken by Oryx, as well as everyone else that had watched their own kind become Taken."

 _"Even if the reason I asked for your cooperation involves the Skyburners?"_ the Cabal on the other end of the channel questioned. _"See to it that you do not shoot them. I will give you more details as soon as you are visible on my HUD."_

"And I'll see to it that I'll shoot the ones that might turn hostile on us, both my Fireteam and yours."

The comms channel clicked as Ta'aan signed off, leaving the black-bathed Titan back on the mission.

"SPECTRE!"

He turned around and saw the rest of his Fireteam headed towards him, and after what felt like days, Nero Bianco had finally regrouped. Again, he didn't keep track of the time. Based on the ashes and dirt on each of their armor, he concluded that the part of the mission he assigned the three of them went a little complicated than he planned.

"Is the weapon down?"

"One hundred…percent…offline." Rez was catching his breath, pointing it out towards the leader of the Ancient Vanguard.

"We ran into some Taken while we were taking care of them, but they weren't a problem." The Warlock added, dusting off his Heart of the Praxic Fire from the dust and ashes like he was a neat freak.

"Well, we got Ta'aan onboard."

Upon the mention of the name, Rez tensed up and froze in place horrifically. "Oh no, not that brute of a Bracus! _He's_ here?!"

"C'mon, we gotta head to the breach and give him a hand!"

 _ **-Destiny-**_

Soon enough, Nero Bianco arrived at the breach site. Already, they could see the hole that _something_ made in the hull of the Dreadnaught, revealing the gas giant that the Fireteam was currently in close proximity to. Luckily, their helmets detected that there was no more oxygen in the area due to the hull breach and began feeding the oxygen to them through their armor. And smackdab into what caused the hole in the Hive ship's hull was directly in front of them to their right.

 **"A Cabal ship! Skyburners colors!"** Alpha declared, immediately spotting the Cabal ship that crash landed─and undoubtedly caused the hull breach. From what the Fireteam could see from their vantage point, the Skyburners and Hive were waging war against each other, Slug Rifles and Shredders flying all over the place. There were also Ogres and Colossi in the fray, as well as Knights with Hive Boomers and Centurions with Projection Rifles.

Avoiding being caught, the Fireteam took cover behind some debris.

"Why the hell are the Cabal here?!" Spectre's Fireteam practically asked in unison, obviously knowing that Spectre knew something.

"Do I look like I know?! Anyway, our priority is to get the Skyburners out of here and deal with the Hive," once more, Spectre started formulating one of his master plans, glancing over his cover to have a quick scout. His HUD relayed information sent by the Bracus via coded dispatch (typical of him), and it was clear on what he wants with the cooperation. "If there's any Cabal that shoot at us with a hostile intent, you know the drill. Shoot back. We're gonna head for that outcrop on the west of our position, near the hull breach. I'll plant the drop beacon, and we're sending in the calvary."

"Right," the Hunter and Warlock of the Fireteam understood the order, followed by the Sunstriker. Soon enough, Silver faced his leader. "So how are we gonna do this, Spectre?"

"Rez, Silver, you guys still got the 'Party Crashers'?"

Under their helmets, the Exo and human grinned. "Who said we didn't bring them?"

"Hate to do this to our enemies, but at least their fun will be ruined by us!"

Spectre turned his head to face his Ghost hovering over his shoulder. "Primus…" Immediately, the Ghost understood the intent and called out a heavy weapon from his inventory. Church and Alpha followed Primus's example and transmatted the same weapon from their respective Guardians' inventories.

Lightning watched as what transmatted in their hands were rocket launchers. But not just any rocket launchers. The Hunter, Titan, and Warlock had the exact same rocket launcher, with a white exterior and many gold adornments that made it quite majestic, especially with the wolf's head on the front of the rocket launcher's loading chamber. She knew what weapon would fit the description. One rocket launcher so feared by many that it made a lot of Guardians begin their search for the devastatingly powerful weapon.

Gjallarhorn.

After they loaded their weapons, they stood from cover and rested them on their shoulders, scopes laid before their eyes. Where Silver and Rez placed them over their right shoulders, Spectre put his on his left shoulder, interfacing his rocket launcher's scope to his HUD to compensate for his broken collarbone.

"Knock knock."

"Who's there?" As if the Hunter and Warlock's response to the classic joke was a cue, the trio pulled the triggers on their weapons. The rockets were let out of their cells, the payloads screaming like Hive Boomers as they all tracked their own targets. As soon as they all struck Knights and Ogres─and unfortunately, swarms of Acolytes and Wizards─, the rockets exploded within proximity, and the Wolfpack Rounds finished off the Hive that didn't die from the blast.

However, some survivors redirected their attention from the Cabal towards the Guardians that took out their heavy hitting soldiers. Hissing and howling, they practically called for the rest of the Hive in the area to go after the Guardians.

"Well, now it's a party." Silver joked, using the sling he made for Gjallarhorn and letting it rest against his shoulder. From their vantage point, they could see a multitude of Thrall rushing their way towards them.

Primus still hovered over his partner's shoulder while he slung the weapon much like the Warlock. **"Music?"**

"Hmm… Something worth being under 'kicking the enemy's ass, with four Guardians standing up against an entire army'." His Ghost took in the request and skimmed through his music until he found it; 'Gotta Get the Cash'. Just as soon as the song started dropping the beat, the Fireteam slid down the slope and started scoring kills with their respective Exotics, the three main members of Nero Bianco scoring precision kills with their handcannons and scout rifle while the Sunstriker fired off tight, pulse rifle-like bursts from her auto rifle before breaking off from the rest of the Fireteam and unleashing her Infernal Punishment on an unsuspecting group of Hive attempting to flank them.

Just as the rest of Nero Bianco was reaching the outcrop, he spotted a red glint among one of the places that would be used as a sniping nest before his modified IFF identified the sniper. Jessica, a Cabal Psion Flayer from Triton's Twilight House. They had a few run-ins before, and her presence on the Dreadnaught meant that she was here with Ta'aan.

"Nice to run into you here of all places, Jessica." The leader of the Fireteam and the Ancient Vanguard greeted the Psion Huntress of Twilight House, the four of them shooting back at the Hive and the occasional Cabal that tried to shoot at them.

"Ta'aan brought me along to back him up. Personally, I had better chances of helping out a certain Hunter when their guard was down than watching Ta'aan's flank." The Psion Flayer responded, quickly looking through the scope and firing off a round out of her anti-materiel rifle.

" _That_ was _you_ who tried to rip a hole out of me?!" following the Cabal Huntress's lead, he quickly peeked through his Stillpiercer's scope and fired off a skip round, the round tearing through a Knight's skull and ricocheting off to strike nearby Acolytes in the head. "I had that Acolyte until you had to kill it!"

Under her helmet, she grinned evilly. "Really? Because from where I was standing, you looked like a complete idiot who just suffered from a flashbang grenade and a seizure attack at the same time while crossing the street until a high speed Interceptor rams into you." As if that was the last straw─and it was for the Nightstalker─, he screamed at the top of his lungs frustratingly and threw down his Stillpiercer, clutching at his hood and taking fistfuls in his fists while stomping his foot repeatedly like a madman.

"Try being kicked in the gut and thrown over the edge into the abyss, only to be revived and shot in the goddamned head by Spectre's modified Antinomy XVI with a high caliber round! And not within thirty seconds, I'll add!"

"Are you done?" Spectre asked, kicking the sniper rifle back towards Rez's feet and planted the transmat beacon, the familiar green glow from the device blinking now that it was operational. In the nick of time, Lightning regrouped with the rest of the retaliation strike team, helping them hold off the army of Hive while Ta'aan and his Shadow Stormers evacuated the Skyburners that willingly came with them.

 **"Transmat link is active! Our ships are inbound, and so is back-up!"**

Soon enough, the transmat zone that Spectre had set up was filled with the most unlikely of back up. Fireteams Dragon, Death, and Sparta. _Of course they'd come running to the Dreadnaught for the action, as if the Moon was enough to satisfy them all._ Spectre groaned in his head. With Dragon and Death, he can personally deal with, but Sparta? Nero Bianco and Sparta are enemies, rivals even to say. He has problems with Adam, and Adam just plain despises him for no apparent reason. The four Fireteams and Cabal forces focused fire at the Hive, wiping them out, but more of them just keep coming out of the dark corners of the Dreadnaught.

 _"_ ─ _on?! Spectre, are you there?!"_ A voice called out in the Sunbreaker's ears, causing him to wince a bit and press two fingers against his audio receptor.

"You didn't have to yell in my ear like that, Tri! I can hear you loud and clear now!"

 _"Sorry, there were some complications in trying to break through the radio interference up here. Cayde's been trying to contact you, but he kept telling me that either your comms were off or that some interference was in play."_

"Patch him in." Spectre muttered, teeth grinding against each other as Triton was patching the Hunter Vanguard to his comms.

 _"Hey Zavala! Wanna know what a transmat zone on the Dreadnaught looks like?"_

 _"You landed Nero Bianco on the Dreadnaught without authorization?!"_ The outraged tone of Spectre's superior came piercing through his ears, knowing that he just went through a miniature version of the earful he had after he got Cayde's stealth drive.

 _"Oh right! Can I have authorization?"_

Just as another Harvester appeared to take the Skyburners that are evacuating away, the Skyburners sent out a Goliath tank from the crashed ship, the hull damaged and the rear port anti-grav thruster sparking like crazy. However, what was odd about this Goliath and the others that Nero Bianco faced before it was that it seemed heavily plated and a multitude of weaponry to match, almost as if…

 _Boom!_

The Harvester that was evacuating the wounded Skyburners exploded into a million pieces, and the Cabal within the ship all decimated to ashes within a single plasma launcher shot and bombardment of missiles. The retaliation strike made a run for cover as the husk of the Harvester was about to crush them all, blocking the transmat zone and preventing anymore reinforcements from reaching the area.

 _"We'll discuss it later. Spectre, Dmitri, and Adam: take care of that tank, or the transmat zone won't matter!"_ The comms between Zavala and Spectre were cut as another plasma launcher strike was fired, taking out a small portion of the Shadow Stormers assigned with helping the Skyburners.

"Some plan you have right now, huh, Spectre?" Dragon looked at the Ancient Vanguard leader, who was returning fire blindly with Skyfall.

"Tell me something I don't know, like how those two new recruits of yours isn't doing jack right now!" Spectre fired the last round in his handcannon, forcing him to eject the spent magazine cylinder and load in a new one. "Then again, I don't suppose you know how to deal with this much armor on a Goliath!"

"It's the first I've heard of it!"

"Dammit…!" another plasma launcher strike, this time close to the leaders of Nero Bianco and Dragon. "Ta'aan! That Goliath's going hostile on us!"

 _"You are not to engage that Goliath! They need repairs!"_

"Then explain why it's shooting at _us_!" on the other end of the comms, the Bracus began to say something in the Cabal language like he was muttering under his breath. "Ta'aan, as much as I don't want to cause more damage to the Skyburners, we need to get rid of that Goliath before it gets rid of us!"

 _"_ … _Fine. You and the other Fireteams are cleared to eliminate the Goliath. Just know that loss will have my brothers' blood on your hands."_

"I understand." Again, the comms between the Bracus and the Sunbreaker were cut off, and the Titan faced his Ghost. "Primus, tell Alpha, Artemis and Church to have our ships wait outside the Dreadnaught!"

 **"Already told them since that tank started shooting at the Harvester and us!"**

 _Boom!_

Another plasma strike, but instead of hiding behind the rubble, the two leaders moved to another and started shooting at the Goliath with their machine guns. However, the rounds fired from Objection IV and Dragon's customized machine gun did little effect on the Goliath, the rounds bouncing off the armored plating like it was nothing. Rez and Silver brought out their Gjallarhorns and fired at the Goliath, only for the rockets to be diverted from course just as soon as the rockets were within close proximity.

"Dammit, heavy weapons are useless!" the Sunbreaker unloaded the last bullet in the magazine, ducking behind cover to reload. "What's it gonna take to take this guy out?!"

 _"You could've nicely asked, Spectre."_

"Lightning, what the hell do you think you're saying?!"

His question was soon answered when he caught the shrill sound of rapid-firing machine guns and the whistle of rockets being fired. Thanks to the sound of those weapons being fired, his direction was redirected and watched as the crashed Harvester that blocked the transmat zone was blown to pieces by a barrage of rockets and machine guns. From right outside the hole in the Dreadnaught's hull was Lightning's _Draught of Nectar_ , a high-powered searchlight lighting up the area while the ship's weapons and arsenal popped out of multiple places and become encased in heavy armor plating.

"Who the hell's flying your ship, sis?!"

 _"Autopilot's doing the work. Don't worry, I programmed it to attack on my command when I tell Artemis to. Right now, I ordered it to attack the Goliath."_

The _Draught of Nectar_ entered the hull breach and started firing its machine guns and turrets at the heavily-armored Cabal tank, some of the rear-mounted turrets near the thrusters diverting their fire from the Goliath and focused on the Hive that tried to take out its thrusters. Some of the Hive were successful to landing hits on the ship, but they were swatted off like it was nothing. Thanks to having some heavy artillery deal with the Cabal's own heavy artillery, the Guardians got out of their hiding spots and focused on the Hive that keep on coming in floods of many hundreds coming in. After the Goliath had enough of being shot at, it locked on the black and silver ship and fired its rockets in a furious storm.

The armed ship, in a retaliation strike to the Goliath launching rockets at it, fired its own micro-rockets and did a barrel roll to the right. After the _Draught of Nectar_ fired the rockets, they tracked after the larger rockets and within a swarm, the rockets collided with each other, making a spectacular display of aerial explosions and creating a smoke screen between the ship and the Goliath.

"Some arsenal your sister has, huh, Spectre?" Dmitri kidded, firing off his flamethrower at the incoming Hive headed his and Spectre's way. While the leader of Dragon was burning the Hive to an overdone crisp, Spectre brought out his Ironwreath-D and held down the sidearm's trigger, the weapon firing a spray of skip rounds that ricocheted off the walls and the skulls of the unfortunate Hive he aimed at and utilizing his knife for the Hive that were too close for him to shoot at.

"Trust me, I haven't seen her for nine years, and she shows up just yesterday with a weaponized ship and gear from the Trials of Osiris. Some sibling reunion."

Lightning's ship began to spin up the chaingun mounted on the nose until a large Shadowshot arrow tore through the cloud of smoke, striking the Goliath tank and preventing it from moving. Following the attack was four more Shadowshots, each of them pinning the antigrav thrusters and preventing them from moving. Emerging from the smoke was a single Huntress with a white cloak and a wolf pattern emblazed on it, who joined up with the leaders of Nero Bianco and Dragon.

"What the hell are you doing here, Reaper?!"

"What, do you think I had no idea of your plans? Like I said when we got the stealth drive; I'm bored of sticking around waiting for the next crisis to happen," the Bladedancer nocked in another arrow and fired at the Hive attempting to flank the two leaders, all of them exploding in a single shot. "If you asked, I followed your ships here."

"Do you even know how risky this is?!"

"I live for the thrill of the hunt, and I already missed out on the retaliation strike on the moon! I'm not letting this opportunity slip by me!"

"Save the lovers' quarrel for later, you two!"

Thanks to Reaper's knack of using Shadowshot arrows from Night Predator, Lightning's ship had finished charging up the chaingun and unleashed a torrent of high caliber rounds infused with Solar, Arc, and Void energy. Within a reasonable volley of the rounds, the armor on the Goliath cracked apart, and just as the Cabal tank was about to fire its plasma launcher, the _Draught of Nectar_ fired its micro-rockets at the charging weapon. Because of their small size, they immediately blocked the ports to the weapon, and with the fact that the weapon was charging, it exploded, destroying its main form of attack. Part of the tank was eliminated, but not down for the count yet.

 _"You remember what we used to say back then, Spectre?"_ Lightning questioned her twin, to which he smirked under the helmet and responded with a yes.

"Checkmate."

 _"Checkmate."_

Even if the chaingun was overheated for the meantime, there was only one form of weaponry on Lightning's ship that was still active. The rocket launch pods near the cockpit and thrusters opened up, and fired off the last of the rockets the ship had in a furious storm. Both micro-rockets and cluster bomb missiles fired from the _Draught of Nectar_ struck the Goliath tank, the barrage of rockets acting as a two-way cracker. And we quote a certain tiny robot, 'first we crack the shell, then we break the nuts inside!'.

All of the cluster bomb rockets struck the chassis of the tank at the same time, exploding on contact and letting out its explosive payload. The payload delivered the final blow, causing the tank to explode internally until it finally erupted into a ball of flames.

In a matter of a chain reaction that followed the destruction of the Goliath tank, the Hive that surrounded the hull breach all disintegrated back into the dark pits of the Dreadnaught, leaving the area and the fight quickly. As for the Cabal that were against being evacuated, they warped back into safety within their crashed ship as the Shadow Stormers and the Fireteams all erupted in victory cries, massing around the area where the Goliath fell.

But for the leader of Nero Bianco, his victory was cut short when his comms channel started ringing. He holstered his custom handcannon and pressed his fingers against the audio receptor.

 _"Spectre… Cayde just debriefed us on your…unorthodox mission. Your victory, no matter the method─is a Vanguard victory. You have our thanks."_

"So does this mean I won't have to hear an earful when I get back?"

 _"No, it does not, Spectre."_

 _"Everybody loves a bad idea when it works,"_ the Hunter Vanguard came in on the comms channel, the Sunbreaker tightening his fist at the mere sound of his Exo voice.

"You're lucky, Cayde. At least you won't have to pay me 500000 Glimmer when I get back. In fact, you'll be paying me _20000_ for Eris's ship."

 _"_ … _Yeah. Now, excuse me, Spectre, I have to go have a…uncomfortable conversation with Eris about…her ship. Just get home safe."_

The comms shut off in his Duskrender, and Spectre turned around to see the Harvesters and the ships of the other Guardians standing by outside the hull breach. Lightning was nowhere in sight, but her _Draught of Nectar_ had hid the artillery and proceeded to fly outside of the battle zone and back outside. One by one, the rest of the Fireteams were transmatting back to their ships outside the hull breach until it was Spectre and Primus left. If there was one thing that Spectre was known for missions like this, he would be the last one to leave to make sure no one's left behind.

 _No one's left. Good._ "Primus, get us out of─" _Whump!_

A force as though another Titan shoulder-charged him from behind, forcing Spectre to collapse on the ground back-first. With barely any time to react after rolling, a hand reached out for his throat and he started choking. Immediately, his hands were clawing at the hands around his neck as he was lifted from off the ground. _What the hell─?! Why the hell is─!?_

As much as he wanted to find out who's ambushing him, his Duskrender's helmet started blaring alerts all over the damned HUD, making it impossible to see what was going on without having a shadow of what he sees. Just as the grip tightened around his neck, his oxygen levels was being cut off, and the feeling of space was starting to suffocate him. Spectre let one of his hands let go from his attacker's wrists and started throwing wild Solar-fused punches. However, all of it was in vain after the third punch when the assailant stopped the punch and started crushing his fist and wrist with a compactor-like force. Spectre cried out in pain, but the slowly approaching lack of oxygen effectively lowered the sound to a mere pain-driven groan.

"Primus… _go_!" The Sunbreaker pleaded, coughing up blood in his helmet as the vacuum of space was slowly suffocating him.

 **[** _ **No! I'm not leaving you behind, Spectre!**_ **]**

 _Just_ go _!_ NOW!

Even though the Ghost was hiding in his pack, he simply would refuse to leave Spectre's side. But this was one of those situations where it would mean death for the both of them if Primus stuck around. So, reluctantly, Spectre's Ghost transmatted himself into the custom _Fatal Vision_ hovering above the wreckage of the Goliath tank. From his fading sense of hearing, he could tell that his ship turned around and fled the hull breach on the Dreadnaught, leaving him behind.

 _"Think…so tough? Pathetic… This…from a renowned…? What a load of…"_ Spectre heard from his fading hearing until he was thrown into the ground once more, sliding until he stopped at a piece of Hive architecture that was destroyed when the Cabal ship crashed. For some reason, he felt a sinister aura around the area, and he knew what was going on around him. It was the presence of the Taken.

His strength was being sapped away, and he knew it all along. He ran the risk when he told Primus to leave him behind, and the Light within him was being smothered by the Taken's presence. Weakly, he struggled to get back on his feet, but collapsed against the debris. To make matters worse, the vacuum of space already sapped half of his breathing capacity, leaving his breathing shallow and short of breath.

And before he knew it, he felt his head being grabbed by his assailant and jerked forward. What happened next was all in a blur. Just as quickly as his head was pulled forward, his head was thrown backwards. A loud symphony of plasteel and electronics within his helmet was released as an ear-screeching song of destruction that tore through his ringing ears, and his skull scrunched against his own helmet. He felt zero gravity through a crack in his helmet, and he knew that his helmet being smashed against the Hive architecture debris wasn't the only problem going on.

 _Dam…mit… Oxygen chip…disconn…ected… Can't… Reconnect…_

Spectre's oxygen, despite his best efforts to conserve whatever was in his helmet without the chip connecting his helmet to his internal oxygen tank, was all depleted.

And he succumbed to the darkness.


	10. X: Out with the Light

_**Chapter X: Out with the Light…**_

* * *

 _Damn it!_

Bang!

 _Damn it, damn it!_

Bang, bang! Scruuunch…!

 _Damn it all to hell! How could I have been so careless?!_

Out in a far part of the ridiculously huge hangar of the Cabal warship known as the _Hades' Soul_ , a Titan bathed in silver, gold and black was throwing a fit. With each throw of her every fist, parts for ships both Cabal and for Guardians were flying, making quite a mess until she punched the support that suspended her heavily armed and armored _Draught of Nectar_ from the ground while mechanical arms was repairing the damage it took, all thanks to Artemis taking control of the repair arms. Lightning's helmet was off, and clearly, her face was a mix of anger and distress. There was even signs of her about to break into tears, but they were suppressed back due to her changed self.

She failed. Let her own arrogance take the best of her. For being the first to enter her ship. For letting her 'little' brother be _captured_ by an unknown assailant that was either Hive or Taken. She screamed angrily as she took her helmet and chucked it against the support beam. The helmet didn't shatter to pieces on impact, as her Ghost ducked before it hit her and lessened the velocity of the thrown piece of armor. For the first time in nine years fighting under the Queen by the order of the Cyphers, she slipped up. A screw up that costed more than a mere defeat. Even if she had a reputation of soloing the Trials on her own, that only hid what many would assume to be a weakness.

A fear of failing to protect Spectre.

 _"Lightning!" Her red and black-colored twin brother came racing towards her body, picking her up and resting her head against his lap. "C'mon sis, don't die on me!"_

 _The twin of Spectre only coughed out blood in her helmet in response, and her vision was turning black as she covered her wound with one of her hands._

 _However, as one Lightning was lying on the ground bleeding, another was a ghost in this memory. The present-day Lightning stood at the sidelines, bowing her head in shame at recollecting the first time she failed to protect him and paid the price for it. The Cyphers sent her and her brother after some important cargo down in the ruins of Old Chicago, and it was a case when the Cyphers would send the two of them on a mission; rarely did Vesper join the missions. And this was a time when the Cyphers prohibited them from having Primus and Artemis revive or heal them, and that meant life or death, as well as making their choices in the field count. All for a survival endurance test so that they could survive without their Ghosts. It was protocol of sorts when it came to the Cyphers._

 _Lightning and Spectre were able to extract the cargo, but they were ambushed by the Fallen in the region. They fended off their attackers, but Lightning suffered a near-fatal wound when defending her brother from a Vandal's Shock Blades. She took the stabs in her shoulder and chest, but she was fortunate enough that the blade that went through her chest didn't stab deep enough to actually kill her. If she didn't leap in at the last second, then she would be the only one of the twins still alive today._

 _Ever since she put her life on Spectre's─and anyone else she cares for─own, she swore that she would protect them at all costs._

"How could I fail my own promise? What good am I if I can't goddamned protect him?!" she slumped against the support beam with the control panel, her helmet in one hand and head against the structure. "First I couldn't protect Mara, now it's my own brother? Some Titan I turned out to be…" Lightning wanted to cry, but her body wouldn't allow it to happen. Her lightning blue eyes clearly watered upon closer inspection, but they remained there, unable to be free.

Weakness. It was a foreign concept to her, despite having a fear. The only major time she showed it was her failure to get the Queen out of the rings of Saturn before the Dreadnaught's weapon wiped out her and the Awoken fleet. And since she was the only survivor of the attack, and now she and Petra are going to pay the price of mourning. Mourning a close companion and their Grace in a way just like Spectre.

 **"Light…"** Artemis stopped what she was doing on the control panel and hovered over to the Sunstriker. **"You can't blame yourself. I don't want to offend him, but it** _ **was**_ **Spectre's choice to be the last one to leave. Plus, everyone was exhausted after that fight. It was the perfect moment for the enemy to ambush us."**

"I almost lost my own life the first time I protected him, and now I didn't even try to do it!"

 **"Artemis is right, Lightning,"** the traumatized Primus appeared next to Artemis, shell whirring like he was saddened. **"Spectre always did that ever since he started being in a Fireteam with Rez and Silver. It's just in his nature ever since he lost Vesper. He doesn't want to lose anyone, be it a friend or someone he loves."**

The Titan and the two Ghosts soon heard the sound of boots clacking against the metal that made up the floor of the hangar, and the three turned their direction towards the entrance of their docking station. Reaper soon came into view, her helmet off of her head but her hood was still on and her own Ghost hovering next to her. Just like the older twin of Spectre, she was clearly in despair, but her face barely showed any sign of such emotion. The Huntress looked down at the Titan, legs close to her chestplate and her helmet sitting next to her as the golden visor stared at the black and silvery-gray colored _Fatal Vision_ suspended in the dock next to the _Draught of Nectar_.

The Huntress, on the other hand, was feeling unnerved. She heard of how hostile Lightning could be, based on how she beat up Rez and how she already hated Adam from Fireteam Sparta because he was constantly picking on the partnerless Primus.

 _ **"Heeeeelp!"**_ _The Ghost of the captured Spectre cried out, constantly dodging bullets fired from Adam's FWC handcannon just as soon as Fireteam Nero Bianco turned their backs after he told them that Spectre was captured._

 _"Dammit, stay still, you little prick of a Ghost!" Adam growled, trying to get a bead on the black-colored Ghost that was running away from him. Whether or not he was able to get a lock on him, he always missed his shots. And not even once did he feel humiliated or like a fool because of a damned Ghost!_

 _"HEY!"_

 _Just as Adam fired the last round in his handcannon and missed, he growled ferociously and turned towards the entrance of the shooting range. Standing there was a very pissed off Lightning, her Arcburn Strike sparking with both Solar and Arc energy like a forest fire and storm combined. She stomped towards the panicking Primus and took him in her hand like the Ghost was a child of hers._

 _"Just what the hell do you think you're doing?!" Lightning barked, her own Ghost appearing and comforting the traumatized and quivering Primus. All she got in response was a scoff from the over-equipped Titan._

 _"What do_ you _think you're doing with_ my _prey?" Adam already loaded his handcannon and aimed it at Spectre's sister, teeth grinding under his helmet. "Get lost, and while you're at it, give me back that Ghost. I have some unfinished business with him."_

 _"Like hell I'd give back Primus! You have no right to torture Spectre's Ghost!"_

 _"Under_ whose _orders are you obeying?! Spectre's not here, and what better way to keep that son of a bitch dead is to make sure that his Ghost is destroyed!"_

 _Snapped._

 _For the first time since she arrived in the Tower, not once has she heard of anyone holding a grudge against her brother. And this asshole just wanted him dead! She may not know the grudge between Adam and Spectre, but already, he did something that he'll regret. Because quite frankly, he caused a small thing within Lightning's mental state to snap. Snap like a twig in your hands. Or better yet, like glass that shattered on the ground. Her face darkened, and if it weren't for her self-control, she would've gave in to extreme hatred._

 _Lightning's fist, still sparking with Solar and Arc energy, raged out of control while her blood boiled. In an instant, she dashed towards the Titan, whom was spooked and started firing rounds from the FWC handcannon. With each shot aimed at her, she dodged them at the last second, making Adam seriously pissed off since she was repeating what Primus did a few minutes ago. Within a few inches from Adam, her Solar-Arc combined fist already went beyond her maximum limit and in one swift move, she delivered a devastating left hook. The Spartan was sent flying as a result of the punch, the left side of his Skullfort having a portion of it melted off from the Solar damage._

 _Adam's armored body crashed against the wall, the blunt trauma of his head hitting the wall knocking him out…for the time being. Even if his Feedback Fence was active at all times, it was no use. Lightning's armor, despite being Legendary grade, negated the counterattack thanks to the shared talent of implementing Exotic grade perks to Legendary gear._

 _"Why don't you do me a favor and stay down?" Lightning lessened her tension after sending such a punch, breathing returning to normal as she blew some of her locks away from her eyes._

She took a deep breath and took her hood down, stepping into the dock where Lightning and the two Ghosts were. "Hey, you're Spectre's sister, right?"

Lightning looked up at the Bladedancer, then back down at the ground. "You're Reaper, aren't you?"

"Yeah, that's me."

"What do you want? Come to add more salt in my wound?"

Reaper shook her head. "Do you mind if I sit next to you?"

"There's other places to sit, you know. Why would you want to sit here of all places?" muttered the Sunstriker, occasionally glancing back at the Huntress and back at her hands. However, Reaper wasn't going to leave and decided to sit next to the Titan anyway, mimicking the Sunstriker's pose. "…Fine. Suit yourself."

"I know how much pain you're in, and I just want to help." Reaper rested her arms on her bent knees, looking up at the docked _Fatal Vision_. A tiny spark of envy was inside Reaper, since a ship that was amazingly agile and durable belongs to one of the Tower's best Titans. In fact, it made her _Devils' Due BKR_ look like a toy compared to _Fatal Vision_. She always wanted to own such a ship, but she may never get that chance.

"How the hell could you know how much pain I'm in?"

The Huntress looked at Spectre's twin sister, biting her tongue for a brief moment. "Not many people believe me, but I'm an aura reader. I could just tell by being in someone's presence." The Bladedancer caught the sound of a disbelieving scoff from the Titan. Again, another disbeliever of the Huntress's own ability.

"If you're really an aura reader, then what's the color of my aura right now?" Lightning turned her head to see Reaper's face frown, her previous demeanor replaced in an instant.

"…All I see is black. Black and gray. A lot of things are troubling you, and not just Spectre's capture. You blame yourself for many things, don't you?"

"…You're right, Reaper. I blame myself for a lot of things," she stared down into her hands, her blue eyes darker than before. In her hands was a crystal in the shape of a rose without its stem, colored black and white that both colors took vertical halves of the crystal in an iridescent spectrum. "Leaving my brother alone for nine years when he needed me the most and before his capture, my own failure to get the Queen out of the blast radius of the weapon. I was never perfect. People thought of me as hell's angel because I took on the Trials alone and made it to the Lighthouse multiple times, but really, I was fueled by my own adrenaline and my own combat experience."

"Believe it or not, but when I read your brother's aura, it only remained a constant black. Even though I only knew him for a week."

"Yet you two went on a date. If I'm wrong, aren't you aura readers supposed to _not_ go out with anyone with a negative aura?"

"I wanted to help him open up a bit! His aura's far beyond anything I've read before!" Objected Reaper, turning away to hide a flushed face. "I know how good of a leader he is and a role model to many new Guardians, but aura readers like myself can see through the veil he's using."

"Reaper, believe it or not, but there's a good reason why Spectre doesn't open up much." Lightning paused, pondering on whether or not to tell Reaper that her sister had a lover before. In the end, she decided against it. "He suffered far more than I did. And not because of me leaving him alone."

"It's something else, isn't it?" Reaper caught on, and Lightning nodded. "What is it? Because I'm pretty sure I can─"

"Not now." Lightning suddenly got back on her feet, startling the Bladedancer and making her way out of the hangar where her _Draught of Nectar_ was docked. Just as she was about to turn the corner, she stopped, putting a fist to the wall and looked back at Reaper. A look of confusion was clear in her eyes, practically begging to know more. "I know how much you want to help me and Spectre. I completely understand that desire. But know that there are battles that my brother and I face with every waking moment we breathe. You're trying to step into something that goes beyond a simple talk, so I will say this now: _stay out of it_. Right now, it's his battle he's fighting, and he doesn't need help. So when the time comes that he'll need help from someone like you, go ahead and help him. But for now, stay out of his own fights."

Lightning walked away from the hangar, Artemis and Primus in tow. Just as she walked down the large hangar within _Hades' Soul_ , her right eye was covered by some of her own locks, mimicking her brother's current appearance. She avoided the gaze of Fireteam Sparta as she passed by their hangar, her brother's customized handcannon in her possession as she fired a round in Adam's direction without glancing at him. Some of the members of the other Fireteams that were a part of the retaliation strike passed by her, but didn't say a word since they thought she was still distressed about hearing Spectre being captured by the Taken King's forces.

But that wasn't the case. Within the dark veil that was her grief and distress, her mind began to plan. Plan and plot, plan and plot. The cogs of planning awoke from their rusted slumber, clicking against each other. Plan and plot what, you may ask? Well, the answer is just as simple.

She would get Spectre out of the Dreadnaught.

With or without help.

* * *

It will never stop.

All this pain…

All this suffering…

It's a cycle that will never end.

Even in this darkness, all he could do was suffer. Take the pain. In the darkness of a cell within the Asylum on the Dreadnaught, he was already paying the price for letting his guard down. For being the last one to leave. For being _too slow_ to react to an ambush. How pathetic. The Hive Conqueror, captured by the enemy that should fear him and his name. And his torturer was right all along. He already fell to a defeatist state, but not broken.

In the dim glow of a source of light in the cell, Spectre was suspended from the ceiling of the cell, a chain made out of Hive materials suspending him from the ceiling. Add the fact that the anesthetic Primus administered earlier already wore off, and his shoulders were already numb from the constant pain of his broken collarbone. His face became sickly pale, the scar from his early days reopened and bleeding profusely, bruises scattered all over his face and the splatter of his own blood scattered across his face. His eyelids were swollen nearly shut, obscuring his steel blue-gray eyes from view. Already, his armor was shattered and dented, the fractured shoulder plating now shattered as the Honor of Cormorant was tattered and torn beyond recognition. His signature shield on his arm was bent and on the verge of having major components fall apart, and his Duskrender helmet in ruins, the evidence at his feet as pieces of the armor were on the floor.

His breathing was rapid, both from the pain he's suffering and how he was able to survive in a low-oxygen environment. Because of his torture, the damage to his armor prohibited oxygen being directly fed to his body since it's on an emergency protocol of its own. And that emergency protocol was to use whatever power his armor had to try and relay a distress signal.

 _Whack!_

Spectre coughed out blood as another punch was thrown into his abdomen by his captor, another spray of red blood flowing out of his lips and an audible crack following the punch. The metallic taste of his own blood wasn't anything new to him, since it happened far too often in his missions involving anything that would spell death. Even if he was suspended from the ceiling, he remained silent to it all.

"Tch, not even my first Guardian I captured and already you're close to the verge of breaking." In the darkness of the cell, the Sunbreaker could see the shape of another Titan, but corrupted by the Taken parasite. As to his knowledge, none of the Guardians from the Tower and beyond have been reported MIA since the start of the Taken War. "I thought you were tougher when you were on your own after killing the Echo. And what do I find? A Thrall of a Guardian." He stomped on the remains of the Duskrender helmet, shattering it like it was glass instead of plasteel and other materials.

The Sunbreaker painfully moved his head to look at his captor in the eye, the blood dripping out of the side of his lip. "Says the Titan…who used a cheap…move in capturing me." He spat out the blood in his mouth at the Titan under Oryx's command. Another punch, this time right in the chest. The blow felt more of a Fallen Skiff falling right on top of him rather than a Taken Guardian's version of a melee.

"Do you realize how many bones I've already broken in your body?"

He wasn't kidding on that part. If one were to closely look at Spectre, they would see some of his bones already sticking out of his protective armor, yet he's still alive and breathing. Even worse, his breathing was both rapid and irregular and it felt like every time he took a breath, it was rattled like there were pieces in his lungs. He didn't want to risk any form of collapsed lungs, but he had to survive as well. "I doubt…you broke any…thing."

Just before Spectre's captor could deliver another punch, the door leading to the cell began to creak open, much like a million stones grinding against metal. And as soon as the door opened, the entire atmosphere of the cell dropped to the darkest it can go. From the dim light, Spectre saw the shape of an all too familiar form.

The Taken King approached his hanging prisoner, snarling like most Hive. His Taken influence flowed across his body like many popped out veins, disgusting yet terrifying at the same time. Spectre's torturer knelt down on one knee like a knight, head bowed in respect. Oryx was mere feet away from Spectre, the two of them making eye contact. In an instant, the Taken King grabbed Spectre by the neck, his giant paw-like hand just as easily suffocating him.

"You…" even if Oryx was at his peak in intimidation, Spectre was not as easily intimidated by the Hive. Not even their king. "You are the one who killed my son."

"So…what? There's a…number of Guardians…involved in Crota's…death."

Enraged, the Taken King increased his grip on the Titan, cutting off more of his breathing as he inched closer and snarled. "Do not lie to me, Warrior of the Light. I know it was _you_. His blood is all over you."

"Crota…deserved…it. Killed off…too many…of our own."

"A sacrifice worthy for our crusade. And a covenant that I shall finish." The Taken Knight released his grip from the Titan's neck, letting the amount of air he suffered return.

"You sicken me. Is that all you're really…after? Avenging your dead…son?"

"You are not worthy to be in my presence, but you shall suffer for the death of Crota. One by one, I will Take everything from you. Your friends, your family, your comrades, and your beloved Traveler. And my Right Hand shall start by Taking your Light." Oryx turned around and started to leave his prisoner's cell, but not before turning his head in the direction of the Right Hand, who was already at his feet and head still bowed. "Make sure he suffers greatly, my servant."

"As you wish, my king."

Spectre's breathing slowed to short breaths, his eyesight going from perfectly clear to blurry within a matter of time. In the haze of his vision, he saw the shape that was the Taken King leave the cell, the doors screaming shut until a heavy thud signified his absence. His sight then focused on the Right Hand, whom had already brandished Spectre's confiscated knife. All it took was to spin the knife like a pro and stab Spectre right in the side. The hung Sunbreaker weakly cried out in pain and his head slumped.

"You know, if it were up to me, I could have made you one of us. Maybe even become Oryx's Left Hand. But no. You had to interfere with my king's plans and eliminate his Echo." Another stab, this time in the calf. Spectre cried out louder than the one in his side. "And for my king, I will deliver judgement to those who defy him," the Right Hand dug the knife deeper in the shin, savoring every wincing moment of the Titan suffering from his own knife. "Back where I come from, we have a method of keeping the prisoner sane until their death. And you want to know how it goes?"

"Do I look like…I give a damn?"

"Wrong answer," the Right Hand punched Spectre in the stomach, then plunged the knife in his chest. The stab kept the Sunbreaker alive, but it added more to his pain. "We count down from one thousand by seven."

"Go…to…hell." Spectre howled weakly as the Taken Guardian dug the knife a little deeper, then cupping one side of his helmet to hear an answer.

"Go on. Start counting down. It would be a shame to have you broken by the time you reach the halfway point."

"Nine hundred…ninety-three… Nine hundred…eighty…six…"

And just as Spectre reached nine hundred and seventy-nine, the real torture began. He began to drift in and out of consciousness as the Right Hand continued. Every wound he took made his cries of pain into raspy counterparts of what it should be.

In the dark corners of his head, he was praying for someone from the Tower to rescue him. He didn't care whether or not it was one of many Fireteams, his fireteam, the many disciples under the Ancient Vanguard or the entire legion of Guardians from all across the Solar System. He didn't want death this early.

 _Please… Help me… Some…one…_


	11. XI: In with the Darkness

**A/N: To all readers in Japan reading** _ **Destiny: Skyfall**_ **, please forgive me if I butcher your language.** _ **Gommennasai**_ **(Sorry)** **.**

 _ **Chapter XI: In with the Darkness**_

* * *

 _Orbit of Jupiter, Solar System_

 _"It is good to hear from you, yes? Petra mauled by grief when word of Awoken fleet eliminated by Dreadnaught reached her. Thought no one made it out,"_ the familiar voice of the Vandal belonging to the House of Judgement rang crisp and clear within the helmet of the Queen's personal knight, whom was already in her _Draught of Nectar_ far away from the _Hades' Soul_. She was lucky to have snuck away from the Cabal warship undetected, and that was just a small step into her plan.

"Sorry for making you and Petra worried, Variks. I had some business to attend to." The Sunstriker checked all of her vital instruments to both her ship and armor, confirming whether or not she was ready to go. "Variks, I have a favor to ask of you."

 _"How shall I help you, my friend?"_

"I want you to scan for any form of distress signals coming from the Dreadnaught and relay it to me as soon as I do one last thing. I'm headed back to Earth."

 _"I assume this is another of your suicidal plans, yes?"_ she heard the Vandal chuckle in his foreign tongue, setting coordinates back to Earth. _"I shall do as you ask. Good luck."_

"You know me too well that I won't need it." Once the ship confirmed the coordinates to her destination, she punched the 'launch' command on her console. The HUD in front of her eyes started counting down, and she took a deep breath as it continued to tick away the minutes until her ship makes the jump.

 _Spectre… I swear it. I will protect you. I'll get you out of there…but not without the rest of us._ As much as Silver, Rez, and the others on _Hades' Soul_ was reliable and trustworthy, there were some aspects between her and her brother that none of them knew. They didn't understand the both of them. Not like the rest of the _kazoku_. A _kazoku_ that Lightning and Spectre had grown up with.

The hand on the overdrive throttle gripped it tighter than normal, and her teeth grinded against each other. For all of her life, she had to obey the wishes and orders the Cyphers gave her, and she knew how much Spectre had acted like an insubordinate. But now…now she just couldn't take it. It further boiled her blood. She wouldn't abandon her family. Not now, and not ever.

The Cyphers contacted her on a private comms channel unknown to the Tower and the Speaker. And what they said pissed her off. For the first time since they sent her off to the Reef.

They knew about Spectre's capture. They knew that he was without Primus. And the worst of it all? The Cyphers pulled the plug on Spectre being the one to carry out the Absolution Directive and left him for dead. They won't rescue him. Because in their eyes, he failed them. He didn't live up to their expectations just with his capture. And to add salt to her wound, they transferred his part of the Absolution Directive to her and expected her to complete it, despite her protests of never abandoning her brother and saying that he was the better candidate for the Absolution Directive. Even with her protests, they simply refused to listen to her and just signed off. Now she understood why Spectre hated them, aside from forcing him to kill Vesper.

She glanced towards a pre-Golden Age frame resting next to the stand where her Empress of the Abyss was put away. In the ancient relic that practically no one else would use, she felt remorse and a feeling of content. The photo was of her, Spectre and their about-to-be sister-in-law, along with three others huddled around and smiling…except for one, who only crossed his arms while the rest enjoyed the moment. All in all, the photo revealed that, including her brother, Vesper and herself, there were a male Titan, a Hunter, and one female Warlock. The only oddest thing about the six was that they were all human. No signs of the Awoken or Exos anywhere.

 _For the first time in nine years, I'll see the rest of them. I'll be coming home…to them._

The countdown on her interlinked HUD finally reached zero. At the instant the timer reached zero, her ship made the launch to jumpspace, entering the all-too familiar cobalt tunnel.

 _ **-Destiny-**_

 _Old Tokyo, Old Japan_

 _Out of all the places on Earth he could've chosen to train and or seclude himself, it had to be here. Why am I not surprised?_ As much as she was used to the Old Russia environment, this terrain and environment was something she never got to adapt to. Given that the terrain in Old Tokyo─now a city overflowing with vegetation much like Old New York─, it just reminded her of Old Chicago. And with it, her motivation of why she changed now.

Even in this environment, it's clear as day that due to the vegetation, anything could be lurking within them. The sound of chirping birds native to the area was the only sound to the Titan and Ghost's ears, which was the only thing they heard aside from Lightning trudging through the knee-deep grass.

The Sunstriker continued to walk down one of the many streets near one of the parks in Tokyo, completely lost and unsure about where to find them. **"Don't you really think that this was a bad idea? I mean, you don't even know where to find him in the first place."** The 'twin' of Primus asked, shell whirring as she looked at her partner. Artemis only got a scoff in reply.

"That's one thing you need to know about him."

 **"And that is?"**

The Ghost's question was abruptly answered when a wave of unknown blue energy came streaking against the ground like a shark's fin on land from deep within the vegetation. Quickly, Lightning drew out her Infinite Edge and deflected the fin-like attack. However, the energy attack dispersed and separated into smaller versions of themselves on contact, which struck the Titan in many areas. Acting in unison, the attack give out their last blow, throwing her across the street.

 **"Lightning!"**

Shaking off the impact, Lightning only had a split moment to react before a shadow appeared from above, a giant sword in hand and struck downward with it. She attempted to roll out of the way, but her foot was caught in a pothole in the ground, mixed with vegetation that tangled itself to her ankle. By the time Lightning looked up, she was already too late. The flat end of the blade threw her back where her Ghost was still hovering, skidding against the concrete. Stabbing her sword into the ground, she used it as support and got back up, quickly removing it from the concrete and blocking with her sword. The metals between the two sparked, the Solar-Arc fusion from her Infinite edge dancing like a storm against the dull-black sword that was about the width of a mirror. Comparing the two swords, it would seem that Lightning's Infinite Edge should've broke against the larger blade. But that wasn't the case.

She took advantage of the situation and swiftly delivered the same Arcburn strike she used on Adam back on _Hades' Soul_ , melting off the lower jaw portion of the attacker's helmet. However, the attacker had evaded the thrown punch and grasped Lightning's neck, pinning her against the wall. He raised his sword, ready to put her down. The older twin of Spectre only winced and closed her eyes, wanting the 'Guardian down' state to come already.

A heavy thud rang in her ears, and for once, did she dare look. Instead of the blade tearing her in half, it found itself embedded in the wall, the attacker's helmet staring at her own. Their hand was still wrapped around her neck, but not as forceful as it was only a few seconds ago.

 _"Ohisashiburu desu, Raitoningu-san._ It's been a while, Lightning. _"_ The attacker freed his weapon from the wall, slinging it against his back and letting go of Lightning. Now, Lightning was able to get a better look at the one who attacked her. It was a Titan, sharing the same black colored scheme like Spectre, Rez and Reaper, but entirely different in terms of armor. In fact, three of the four armor types were Exotic-grade. He had An Insurmountable Skullfort for a helmet, the 'bulls-eye' lighting on the visor completely absent and visor colored like the rest of the armor; Ruin Wings as his gauntlets; Spearhead Type 0 covering his chest and torso with the metal badge of a wolf's head over his heart connecting two straps forming an 'x' on his chest; and a full set of Mk. 44 Stand Asides as his boots. He had no mark that made him a Titan whatsoever, but there were pouches around his hip like the ones on Spectre's Honor of Cormorant present and black cloth covering his left leg and right arm.

Under her Golden Bull Mask, she only faintly smiled as he did in the photo they all took. "Not surprising to see you secluded in a place like this, Cloud."

 _"Cyphers kara nani wo kitai shi masu ka?_ What would you expect from the Cyphers?" the titan responded, looking over her shoulder at Artemis, then back at her. _"Spectre-san ha doko desu?_ Where's Spectre?"

"That's exactly why I'm here."

 _"Karega komatte iru ja nai desu ka?_ He's in trouble, isn't he?"

"Yeah. And honestly, I need you and the rest of the _kazoku_ to help me," hovering right above the two Titans was the familiar _Draught of Nectar_ owned by the Sunstriker, the rear hatch opening for the two to board.

 _"Ta no ni nin ga iru baai ha kono chikyuujou ni nokotte tsu ichi dake._ If you want to know where the other two are, there's only one place left on the planet."

"Right. Looks like we have one last stop," just as she set foot in her ship, her comms channel began ringing. She pressed two fingers to her audio receptor. "Variks, did you find anything?"

 _"Was looking, searching for signals. Could not find one. Could not understand Spectre's signal wavelength. Bad data. Search signals?"_ Variks laughed once more in his Fallen tongue, indicating whether it was good news or bad news. _"Could not find distress signal because there is none. Picked up faint signal within Dreadnaught."_

"Knowing Spectre, he would've kept his signal below the radar because of the Skyburners. I'll start from that faint signal, Variks. Relay me the coordinates of that signal."

 _ **-Destiny-**_

 _Rings of Saturn, Solar System_

"So that's where Spectre's being held."

A Hunter observed from the loading bay in the _Draught of Nectar_ , taking in the sight of the Dreadnaught. Based on his look from the light, he had brown unruly hair and eyes similar in shade to Spectre and Lightning, but the more defining aspect was a diagonal scar across his forehead and nose. He sat next to Cloud, whose giant sword was leaning against the bench since the weapon couldn't let him sit down.

"Let's admit it, he was bound to screw up somewhere eventually."

 _"Watashiha Spectre-san ga kareni sashidasu nantoka odoroi te iru watashitachi no nokori no bubun ni dokuji. Sonogo, futatabi kareto Vesupaa i tachikaku ni ari masu…_ I'm surprised that Spectre managed to hold out on his own without the rest of us. Then again, he and Vesper were close…"

"Holding his own weight for four years? Knowing him, he was probably drowning in his sorrow."

"Stop with the negative responses, Leon," the Warlock of the group spoke up between the Hunter and Titan's 'argument', closing a hardbound journal that she was skimming through in her one hand. In the dim light of the loading bay, Cloud and Leon could see a woman around their age with short hair with an unnatural light blue color and dark blue eyes contrasting her hair. "I can remember the times you were in the same position, but with your sis─"

"I get the point, Aqua!" exclaimed Leon, springing up from the bench to start a fight with the Titan. Before long, Cloud put a hand on his shoulder and drove him back down on the bench with his insane strength.

 _"Reon-san, juubun desu._ That's enough, Leon," even if Cloud is behind his helmet, the glare he could've sent towards the Hunter already shut him up. _"Watashitachi no subete kara karega, un no warui koto wo oboe nakere ba nari mase n. Naze tak, karega aisuru josei wo korosu tame ni karega aru no daro u ka. Anata no imouto ga tamatama josei desu ka?_ Out of all of us, you have to remember that he was the unluckiest. Why else would he have to kill the woman he loves? A woman that happens to be your sister?"

"Damn you, Cloud. You and your silver tongue…"

 _"Sore ha watashiga kangae ta mono desu._ That's what I thought."

Leon looked over at the Warlock across from him, who only opened the journal and dove deep into what was within it. Her eyes skimmed over each and every line of text and flipped the pages with one finger, followed by her page-flipping hand out and formulating many variations of the Warlock's Force Ignite. From an amplified version of the Stormcaller's Thunderstrike to a floating shard of ice in her hand that was gradually growing, she was clearly a force to be reckoned with, especially with her versatility in her Force Ignite. His attention switched over to his own weapon leaning against the bench much like Cloud's sword. It was intriguing to the sight, with the frame of a handcannon and a sword's blade replacing the barrel of the weapon. Imprinted on the sides of the weapon was the insignia of a lion's head.

The door leading to the cockpit of the _Draught of Nectar_ opened, and in came in Lightning, her weapons both sword and auto rifle at the ready. She hadn't removed her helmet since she picked up Cloud from his 'shrine' in old Tokyo, so the three waiting for landing had to do with it. Cloud, Aqua and Leon directed their attention to the Sunstriker, the shard of ice in Aqua's hand fading away to particles and the Hunter resting his weapon on his lap.

"Are you guys ready for this?" asked Lightning, looking towards Cloud first.

 _"Hai._ Yes."

Aqua tucked her hardbound journal into her side pack, tugging at the hem of her gauntlets. "I'm in too. Besides, Spectre isn't just a member of our Fireteam before he was assigned to the Absolution Directive. He's family. And the four of us is all he has left."

 _Two out of the three down._ Lightning then redirected her attention to Vesper's brother, "Leon?"

"…As much as I personally want to go back to my business, I suppose I can spare some time getting our _brother_ back from the clutches of the Taken King." Venom seethed at the word 'brother', both from the idea of someone like Spectre trying to be his brother-in-law and from previous confrontations.

"Then get ready. We'll be landing in two minutes."

The three acknowledged the order from Lightning and put on their gear, Leon and Aqua putting on their helmets. As if she knew, the Warlock got up and followed after Spectre's older sister, standing in the cockpit with her. Lightning was in the pilot's seat, fist on her cheek and arm propped on the armrest. Obviously, autopilot was active, and Aqua knew that Lightning was in one of her rather rare 'blaming/beating herself up for what she had done' moments. She could just tell.

"Light…" the Warlock placed an assuring hand on the Titan's shoulder, "Don't worry. We'll get him back. You know how all of us were trained."

"I know. I just hope we're not too late." Lightning's Ghost appeared over her shoulder, pressing her shell against her shoulder to do its best to comfort her. "I know Spectre could hold out for so long against the Hive, but this capture… It can't be any typical Hive."

"Are you suggesting that…?"

"Oryx Took a Guardian." Lightning added bluntly, "A Guardian that either despises my brother or all Guardians. Primus said it was a Titan, but it can't be Adam… So who else could it be…?"

Soon enough, her train of thought was derailed. Derailed like another train crashing into it from the side. Under her Golden Bull Mask, her eyes widened. A soft chime similar to pre-Golden Age wind chimes reached the Titan and Warlock's ears, prompting the two to dig into their packs. They found their rose-shaped crystals, and both of them were in one hell of a surprise.

One of the five petals began to wither, despite the rose being made out of crystal. And that meant one thing.

 _I'm not losing him, not like Vesper!_ Lightning switched to manual control and hit the overdrive throttle. The silver and black ship raced towards the Dreadnaught, completely unaware that they were in sight of the Cabal warship that Lightning snuck away from.

* * *

… _Where am… I?_

Nothing. The Sunbreaker known to many Guardians as Spectre felt nothing. All there was to him was just…nothing but white. He couldn't move, nor see anything.

 _Am I… Dead?_

Spectre felt like he was floating in the water or floating in zero gravity. He tried to open his eyes, but they refused to obey his command. He also tried moving his arms, but like his eyes, they didn't listen and remained still as a statue. Even behind his eyelids, he saw nothing but white.

 _So this… is how it ends for me. The Tower's greatest hero, KIA by the newest threat to the system…_

He couldn't recall much. The only bits and pieces of his memories during his torture by the Right Hand was the constant beating and stabbings, as well as having a tiny Hive worm in his ear as a part of the Right Hand's sick method of torture. So far, he could only come up with two outcomes. He either died mid-torture, or he slipped into unconsciousness. Hours and hours has he gone through it all. The pain kept piling up until it buried him whole.

 _"Wild flower, blossoming,_

 _I beg of you, tell me this so I know too,_

 _Why do people fight? They all act as if it's right~"_

 _That voice…_

Spectre heard it was close by, just within his ears. He couldn't register whose voice it belonged to right now, but it sounded familiar… And so did the string of verses. It sounded like a lullaby, but it also had aspects of a requiem from the singer's pitch. Soon enough, he felt something. A hand. Fingers brushing against his bloodied and beaten face warmly and gently, followed by humming.

 _"Don't they know that's no way to live?_

 _Valiant flower, blossoming,_

 _What can you see when you look down on me?_

 _Why can't people say that they're sorry for the way that they've fought~"_

Spectre's recollection of his mind began to piece it all together, and eventually he felt his head resting against something like a pillow. A gentle breeze ran through his hair, and so did a smell. A smell of many flowers filling his nostrils. Out of the flowers he could name off the top of his head, one of them has a rather strong presence. The scent of roses. _It_ _has to be… It_ must _be!_

 _"I thought we once could,_

 _When the sky has cleared and rains have passed,_

 _I still won't forget the past,_

 _You are not alone on your own~"_

"Ves…per…" Spectre groaned, struggling to open his eyes. The singing stopped, and the hand he felt against his face found its place on his scar-sided cheek. After what seemed to be an eternity, he opened his eyes. Despite his vision being blurry, he saw the silhouette of a human Huntress looking down at him and smiling.

 _"Wake up, sleepyhead."_

Another face appeared in his hazy vision, energetic and eager in their entrance and looking down at him. He didn't recognize them, but it appeared to be a child and he saw a bit of long brown hair and a cheerful and innocent smile on their face.

 _"Hi, daddy!"_

* * *

 **Well, cliffhangers galore! Really, that's all I have to say… Nah, not really.**

 **Short and sweet bios for the rest of Spectre's** _ **kazoku**_ **(family in Japanese). Enjoy.**

 **Cloud:**

 **Main Subclass: Unidentifiable by Tower and Vanguard database, known only as 'Buster' (Talent Nodes: Meteorstorm Grenade (Solar grenade that delivers a devastating explosion on impact and splits to cover a large area); Blink (Lift); Omnislash (Super); Voidburn Strike (Void/Solar-fused melee); Titan Codex II; Unstoppable SOLDIER (Extremely harder to kill while using Omnislash); Titan Codex IV; Limit Breaker (Every enemy brought down by sword or melee or hit taken charges Super and Limit significantly, allowing Cloud to use Omnislash and Limit attacks more frequently)**

 **Primary Weapon: None**

 **Special Weapon: None**

 **Heavy Weapon: Buster Sword, Fusion Swords (When equipped, Super changes from Omnislash Version 1 to Omnislash Version 6)**

 **Ghost Shell: None**

 **Helmet: An Insurmountable Skullfort**

 **Gauntlets: Ruin Wings (Seeds of Ruin Exotic perk replaced with new perk 'Mako Infusion', making Cloud near invincible when using Limit attacks and unable to cancel Limit attacks when hit by an enemy)**

 **Chest: Spearhead Type 0 (Removed radio antenna and decorated as described in chapter)**

 **Legs: Mk.44 Stand Asides (Be Somewhere Else Exotic perk replaced with new perk 'Dash and Slash', giving a variation of Shoulder Charge where Cloud dashes and delivers a devastating slash from his sword)**

 **Mark: None**

 **Artifact: Holy Materia**

 **Shader: Fenrir (Legendary-class Shader that takes on a completely black look with a dull shine)**

 **Bio: Prodigy in his own right and lone wolf of Spectre and Lightning's** _ **kazoku**_ **, Cloud is one of the three that doesn't utilize firearms in any shape or form, but instead relies on his sword. Cloud used to speak in English before, but after an assignment given to him by the Cyphers, he was wounded to the degree that his vocals couldn't allow him to continue speaking in English, forcing him to speak in another language, Japanese. Leon, Aqua, Spectre, Vesper and Lightning could understand him well in Japanese, and the reverse can be said with Cloud. Eventually, after Vesper's death, he secluded himself in the ruins of Old Tokyo, where he continued to train against the Fallen in the area and becoming better in his surroundings.**

 **Leon:**

 **Main Subclass: Unidentifiable by the Tower and Vanguard database, known only as 'Griever' (Talent Nodes: Seeker Grenade (Solar grenade that scatters on impact and releases explosive drones that track nearby targets. Think of the Seeker Grenade like Gjallarhorn's Wolfpack Rounds as a throwable grenade); Balanced Double Jump (Combines Better Control, Higher Jump and Triple Jump); Renzokuken (Super); Disintegrating Blade (Void knife attack that disintegrates its victims much like a Voidwalker's Energy Drain and Defender's Disintegrate melee); Path Forgotten; Lion's Prodigy (Like Cloud's Unstoppable SOLDIER, Leon is extremely difficult to kill during his Super startup and the duration of Renzokuken); Way of the Drifter; Lion's Marauder (Further amplifies Leon's critical slashes by 300%, and each successful kill with the critical slashes boosts Armor, Recovery and Agility)**

 **Primary Weapon: None**

 **Special Weapon: None**

 **Heavy Weapon: Lion's Heart**

 **Ghost Shell: None**

 **Helmet: Graviton Forfeit (Void flare removed from helmet; Elusive Shadow Exotic Perk replaced with new perk 'Griever's Roar', allowing Leon to warp around much like the Vex and causing either an explosion or shockwave upon the end of the warp)**

 **Gauntlets: Don't Touch Me (Horn on right gauntlet broken)**

 **Chest: Carnivore Match**

 **Legs: Fr0st-EE5**

 **Cloak: Lion's Legacy (Black and white reskinned Kallipolis Mantle with a Lion's head emblem replacing the New Monarchy emblem)**

 **Artifact: Rainbow Blade**

 **Shader: Griever (Legendary-class Shader that takes on black for the entirety of the Shader, but white in the inner linings of his armor and cloth on his chestplate)**

 **Bio: Younger brother of Vesper and resident precursor to Lightning after her reassignment to the Reef, Leon is a part of the** _ **kazoku**_ **comprising of his sister, Spectre, Cloud, Aqua and Lightning that utilizes no guns but relies on a weapon he built himself, the gunblade. Normally, he wouldn't give a damn about anything but his sister, but pretty much finds time to duel with the other five of the** _ **kazoku**_ **. He was Cloud's partner when he lost his ability to speak in English, and put the blame on himself pretty badly. However, during a fight between him and Spectre, Leon became too reckless that he received his scar from his nose and forehead from carelessness. After Vesper's death, Leon became bitter at his soon-to-be brother-in-law and further distanced himself from the rest of the** _ **kazoku**_ **, eventually finding refuge with Aqua.**

 **Aqua:**

 **Main Subclass: Unidentifiable by Tower and Vanguard database, known only as 'Sorceress' (Talent Nodes: Axis Grenade (Modified Axion Bolt Grenade that randomizes between Arc, Void and Solar upon use and delivers a devastating bolt of energy that separates into a larger amount of smaller bolts); Blink (Glide); Ghost Drive (Super, similar to Radiance from Sunsingers, but relies on offense rather than defense and support, allowing her to attack at blinding speed while using after-image illusions and tricky movements to her advantage); Sorceress's Force (With her journal, Aqua's Force Ignite can vary to provide an infinite amount of possible combat uses); Arcane Wisdom; Master of Sorcery (Each kill while in Ghost Drive strengthens the next one); Ancestral Order; Sorceress of the Abyss (When using either a charged Super, grenade or melee, all enemies of the Darkness combust upon death, chaining the combustion effect to nearby enemies as well as increasing her power in a stackable effect up to three times)**

 **Primary Weapon: None**

 **Special Weapon: None**

 **Heavy Weapon: Custom sword 'Stormfall'**

 **Ghost Shell: None**

 **Helmet: Light Beyond Nemesis (Keeper of the Pack Exotic perk replaced with new perk 'Mercy of the Light', which will start regenerating her health when her health is below two percent)**

 **Gauntlets: Azoth Bend I (Pattern on right gauntlet removed, replaced with an emblem resembling a drop of water)**

 **Chest: Voidfang Vestments (Hungering Void Exotic perk replaced with new perk 'Curse of the Dark', which allows Aqua to use an uncharged grenade, Super or melee at the cost of some of her health)**

 **Legs: Transversive Steps (Strange Angles Exotic perk remains, but part of it is changed. Picking up ammo and reloading removed with allowing Aqua to vanish upon walking when crouching)**

 **Bond: Binary Lazarus**

 **Artifact: Wayfinder**

 **Shader: Empress of the Abyss (Legendary-class Shader that takes on a black and blue look with small streaks of pink on the chestplate)**

 **Bio: The most unique among the** _ **kazoku**_ **and the only Warlock, Aqua is a master in the one thing Warlocks have drawn inspiration from: sorcery and magic and utilizes a unique sword compared to the ones used by Spectre, Lightning, and Cloud. Usually calm and collected, with a devotion to them as well as a desire to do what's right, Aqua established her own set of rules that makes her stand out from the typical Warlock and looks out for everyone in the small 'family', acting as a big sister for them all. Despite her mastery in the elements, her favored element is none other than her namesake: water. After Vesper's death, she comforted Spectre, Leon and Lightning to the best of her ability until the Cyphers assigned Spectre to be the spearhead of the Absolution Directive and moved Lightning to the Reef, leaving her with Leon to support until they, eventually, fell in love.**

 **Chapter XII is it. Next time, it will be time to see whether or not Spectre lives through it all, or becomes Taken. But first, he has some things to discuss with Vesper…**


	12. XII: Unravel

_**Chapter XII: Unravel**_

* * *

He just didn't see it coming.

Not even once in his life has the idea of having children crossed his mind, mostly due to how much he was grieving since he executed his fiancé.

But it did just so happened to be.

Spectre, the spearhead of the Cyphers' so-called 'Absolution Directive', had a child. With his fiancé, no less!

"So, she's really…?" the Sunbreaker managed to support his upper half using his arms, lifting his head from his lover's lap and looking at the child. Again, the child smiled ever so innocently before proceeding to jump into his arms. He noticed that instead of his destroyed and battered armor, he was in his casual wear that he used during his date with Reaper.

Vesper looked down at her daughter and fiancé bonding, smiling. _"I'm sorry, Spectre. I tried to tell you, but─"_

"But then came the order for your elimination _and_ you were corrupted by the time I found you," his daughter snuggled her head against his chest, and he awkwardly ran his hand against her hair. "Who knew? We were on the way to being married, but you had a surprise growing inside you." Guilt and remorse grew in him, and his daughter looked up at him. It was clear that she shared traits from both of her parents. She had her mother's emerald green eyes, but the shape of her eyes was his. Her hair was the same style as Vesper's─long and silky─, but had her right eye covered by some of her bangs like his.

"Correct me if I'm wrong, Vesper, but isn't there supposed to be a 50-50 chance that our child will have blonde or black hair?" in response, Vesper playfully slapped the back of his head, causing their daughter to giggle.

 _"Obviously, you didn't pay attention in class."_

"C'mon, learning about genetics was boring for the most part."

 _"Not when you're going to have a child,"_ she 'scowled' at him. _"Besides, unlike a certain Titan I know, Rose has been a good girl. Isn't that right, dear?"_

 _"Yes, mommy!"_ Rose turned to face her father, sticking out her tongue. _"Bad daddy! You hurt mommy's feelings!"_

"Rose, huh…? Wonder why mommy gave you that name…"

Rose didn't stay mad at her father for too long and returned to her loving demeanor. Spectre sat straight up and put Rose on his lap, Vesper sitting next to him and causing their little girl to hug the both of them.

 _"Mommy gave me that name because of the red flowers! She said they remind her of you, daddy!"_

 _"And speaking of flowers…"_ Vesper butted in, looking at her lover with a glint of love in her eyes, _"Do you recognize this place, Spectre?"_

The Sunbreaker looked around, noting the field they were in. The field was surrounded with flowers of many kinds, and the sky above them was all white like the familiar blue sky was covered by clouds. A gentle breeze ran across the area, the flowers swaying gracefully.

"This is… This is the field that you and I often played in when we were kids."

 _"And where we first confessed our love, and then where you proposed to me,"_ Vesper fiddled around with a gold band around her ring finger, a rose engraving running across the surface and a gemstone with the same iridescence as Lightning's crystal embedded. _"But, then again, it was also where…"_

Spectre faced the ground shamefully, the memories of her execution by his hand coming in a flood. Out of all the memories he had with her in this field, from the times the two of them played in the field, to their confession and first kiss when they were considered teenagers by Pre-Golden Age standards, and their engagement, the black sheep of it all was her death. The guilt piled up once more, breaking down the wall that was the façade he used around the other Guardians.

"I took lives, not make them," he breathed, Rose nuzzling her head under his chin as if she knew the pain inside him. "Among them, out of you, Light, Cloud, Leon, and Aqua, I was the most feared and the reason why I became the spearhead to the Absolution Directive." His eyes began to flood, and he felt something run down his eye. _Wait, am I…crying?_

Spectre never cried. Not since he killed Vesper and their daughter that was growing in her. But after years of mourning without knowing she was pregnant, he was breaking down from the revelation.

"I'm sorry…" he held Rose tighter, the tears in his eyes going out of control and some of them going into her hair. "After all this time of killing the Cyphers' enemies─Fallen, Hive, even the ones against the Absolution Directive─, I killed an innocent life. One that was never born into the world… I'm sorry, Rose… I'm the worst daddy in the world…"

 _"Daddy, stop crying…"_ Rose was on the verge of crying too, and she held Spectre closer. _"You're not the worst, daddy."_

 _"Rose is right, honey. It wasn't your fault that you killed us."_

"But…!"

Vesper shushed him, placing a finger over his lips and taking his chin in her other hand. _"Look at me in the eyes. What do you see?"_

Spectre turned to face her, who tilted her head to the side and warmly smiling as he looked deep into his fiancé's emerald eyes. The green eyes he loved to see wasn't empty like when he had to execute her. Instead, they were filled with forgiveness. A feeling that he never had the chance of having. A spark of memories the two shared was ever so present in them, both from their happiest memories and of Spectre's greatest accomplishments as a hero of the Tower.

 _"Do you remember when you first used Sunbreaker?"_

"…Yeah. Thought the three of us were done for…"

 _ **-Destiny-**_

 _The Stills, Moon_

 _"There's just too many of them!" shouted Rez, switching to his Last Word when his Vestian Dynasty ran out of ammo. The trio was on the move, already past the fifth Lantern of Light and en-route to the sixth._

 _"Just had to waste all that ammo, didn't you?!"_

 _"This is why you're better off fighting the Vex than the Hive!" Spectre, clad in Spearhead Type 0 gear excluding his ACD/0 Feedback Fence, threw a punch at one of the Thrall rushing towards Nero Bianco, tossing a Flashbang Grenade before opening fire with SUROS Regime at the rest of the incoming swarm. The grenade blinded all of the Thrall, all of them shielding their eyes like a bunch of cowards before the bullets from the auto rifle filled them full of holes._

 _"Spectre, behind us!"_

 _The screech of the Thrall came from behind, Silver and Rez already throwing down their Solar and Arcbolt Grenades at the swarm, picking off the survivors faster than anyone could start singing the first verse of 'Paint it Black'. As for their leader, his auto rifle ran out of ammo. Growling, he put the Exotic auto rifle on his back. He was out of ammo for his shotgun, and using his Gjallarhorn was too dangerous, especially since the Thrall in the Stills were faster than the ones he and his team were used to on Earth and the surface of the Moon. With no other option, he knelt down and punched the ground, a tsunami of Arc energy erupting from the ground and his fist as it raced away from him in all directions and frying the wimps of the Hive army, both normal and Cursed._

 _"C'mon, we gotta go!" Silver called out, the Lantern of Light they were taking refuge behind turning a blood red. From what Silver established from Toland's notes, these Lanterns of Light explode if in the presence of Guardians for a long period of time._

 _"Hate to burst your bubble, Silver, but we've got bigger problems!" Rez pointed out. A glowing blob that was an Ogre's head appeared in the darkness of the Stills. Flanking it were Cleaver-wielding Knights and Hallowed Wizards, all of them in shields._

 _"Oh, son of a─!" the Exo cursed._

"Move!"

 _Silver and Rez didn't hesitate and began to move as the Ogre started shooting its eye beams at the three-man team. Nero Bianco managed to get out of the way of the Ogre's attack and the Wizards' poison clouds, but the eye beams struck the Lantern of Light. The Lantern exploded from the barrage, throwing the small Fireteam in different directions._

 _Spectre collided against the rock formation next to the Ogre and away from the rest of his team, back slamming against it. An audible crack rang in his ears, and his helmet's HUD started giving him the warning that he was in critical health._

 _"Dammit…" he managed to get back on his feet, clutching his side as if a rock had impaled itself through. Rez and Silver were having a small bit of difficulty holding off the Knights and Wizards, especially since Silver was using his MIDA Multi-Tool and Rez was dual wielding his Thorn and Hawkmoon._

 _In the far reaches of his vision, he saw the Ogre starting to charge its eyebeams, and creeping along behind his Fireteam were Cursed Thrall. Cursed Thrall, Ogre's eyebeam…_

Dammit, what can I do!? _Spectre punched the rock defeatingly, shattering a bit of it off._ I can't use my Fist of Havoc, and it won't kill the Ogre in time… _He clenched his fist, the tension physically impossible and small sparks of Arc energy in his fist emitting._ I can't use my Super without having Primus charge it!

 _He continued to watch helplessly as his teammates were starting to struggle with the Knights, even though the wrath of two handcannons aimed at the head with precision shots from the MIDA should be enough. However, he failed to notice his clenched fist, where the sparks had somehow turned to flames. Following the change from sparks to flames was the hefty weight of a hammer, the familiar Hammer of Sol in his hand._

 _"What the…?" Spectre looked down at his hand with the sudden weight, not only noting the flaming hammer in hand, but also his own body enveloped in Solar energy. His Holborn's Host Mark had another Hammer of Sol clipped on his belt above the torn Mark, this one not burning with Solar energy. He had no time to stare in awe at his new power; Silver and Rez might as well be close to death's door!_

"Get some, you Hive trash!"

 _ **-Destiny-**_

 _"Wow, so that was how daddy became a Sunbreaker?!"_ Rose saw the memory of her daddy as he recollected, ecstatic at how cool he was. _"I wanna be a Titan like daddy!"_

"Do you think you can take the responsibility?" Spectre looked down at her, who was nodding very eagerly. "Being a Titan doesn't just mean being able to punch your enemies in the nose and greet the end of your hammer to your enemies' face. It's about being the front lines and the last line of defense."

 _"You fight and defend at the same time?"_ Rose raised an eyebrow. _"Isn't that too much?"_

"You don't have to do both at the same time. There are times that a Titan needs to be one. And I quote Commander Zavala, 'there are two types of Titans. One is that they are walking tanks, and another is the wall against which the Darkness breaks.'"

 _"Honestly, I think Rose is more suited to be a Huntress. That way, she can retain honor and trickery without having to be stuck being a guard at the Last City's Wall. Besides, Rose doesn't like sitting around and doing nothing."_

Spectre quickly faced his fiancé. "Hey! At least _I_ don't have to keep watch at the walls 24/7!"

 _"Because you were the privileged. The hero. Of course you wouldn't stick around as a Guard of the City's Wall."_ Vesper saw a badge sewn into his jacket's arms, a familiar two-headed bird holding the Titan's crest, which was the emblem of Titans that defended against the Darkness from any invaders and also on the Titans' version of the Crest of Alpha Lupi with the Roman numeral 'CDLI' at the bird's feet; the numeral for '451'. But on Spectre's jacket, the bird was carrying what appear to be the Raze-Lighter Spectre uses in its talons, and within the Titans' crest was a wolf's face; the wolf seen on the handle of the First Curse. A handcannon that was a gift from her on the day he was announced to be the spearhead to the Absolution Directive just days prior to her execution.

"Honestly, if you were alive, Rose, I don't want anyone to call you a coward."

 _"Why, daddy?"_

"Everyone always complains that the Hunters and Huntresses are cowards hiding behind their sniper rifles. And most of the time, it makes us Titans and Warlocks mad that when we don't realize it, we're already shot in the head by the time we see a red glow in the distance. Becomes a real pain if a team comprising of Titans and Warlocks are pitted against Hunters with sniper rifles."

 _"So you're saying I'm a coward?"_ crossing her arms, Vesper continued to stare at her fiancé for the insult to her class. _"Is it because I used a sniper rifle that you think I'm a coward?"_

"No, not you! I'm saying a majority of the Hunters and Huntresses I know and met in the Crucible are cowards!"

 _"Humph."_ Vesper threw her nose up towards the white sky, opening an eye to look at her daughter and winked.

Spectre looked down at himself, loathing saying such an offensive comment. He looked at his right hand, seeing the mark that the Right Hand had carved into the palm of his hand with his own knife. No doubt it will become a scar like his cheek. It was disgusting entirely, a snake of destruction slithering from the center of his palm to the back of his hand, a trail of crimson left behind in its wake. The mark resembled Oryx's emblem, and the trail made could've marked him as another to be Taken. Just like the Right Hand.

"How am I here, Vesper? I should be alive and in the Dreadnaught, rotting and probably on the verge of death."

 _"You're still on the Dreadnaught, Spectre,"_ Vesper snapped out of her 'pouting' and looked over at her fiancé, remorse clear in her emerald orbs, _"Your body is still hanging in your cell, but your mind is here. With me."_

"How is that─?"

 _"Don't you remember anything, Spectre? What caused you to be here?"_

"…Not much. All I remember was stopping at five hundred and fifty three and a Hive worm in my ear."

 _"The Right Hand was still continuing to stab and beat you to submission. To break you. But your pride and fortitude kept you from being broken…until he found out about me and my death."_ She saw Spectre press a palm to his forehead, trying to recall it all, _"He kept on torturing you, this time breaking you with the one thing you never wished happened. He kept taunting you, playing hallucinations of my death over and over. It was effective, and he was close to breaking you completely… Until I intervened. I found out that in order for a Guardian to become Taken, their Light had to be diminished and broken mentally. Your Light was fading away, but your consciousness was on the verge of being lost."_

"So you saved my consciousness, and why I'm here."

 _"Remember, I was different. I had the gifts of the Umbra and Lumen in my blood. Among you and the others like you, I was an outcast compared to you, Lightning, Cloud and Aqua. A freak in my own abilities,"_ she threw herself into his arms, on the verge of crying. But no tears were shed. _"Compared to the rest, you and the kazoku accepted me and Leon. You didn't see me as a freak."_

Spectre, looking at his fiancé in his arms and then their daughter, held her tightly and kissed her on the forehead. "'See, you can't fly if you never try.' Didn't you tell me that long ago?" he let her sob on his shoulder, gently running his scarred hand against her silky hair. "I wasn't like the others back then. You remember that I was expected to follow in the footsteps of my own father. But I didn't. Because I'm not like my father."

 _"A choice that you and you alone made."_

The gentle breeze kicked up a few notches, the gracefully swaying flowers of the field coming to a dead halt despite the wind being a little stronger. The ambiance of the field changed to a more serious tone than one of reunion and rejoice, as some of the wilted flowers revitalized themselves instantaneously. Spectre, with his fiancé still in his arms, looked up at Rose, whose face was filled with joy. Curious, he looked in the direction she was looking at and he was greeted to a surprise.

"Father…! Mother!"

 _"Grandma! Grandpa!"_

Standing before the Sunbreaker was his parents. Both of them had different shades of blonde hair; a dirty blonde for his father and a pure golden blonde with his mother, and their eyes were the same blue. His father, in heavy armor much unlike a Titan's and a tattered and torn cape replacing the Mark, had a hardened look much like Zavala's and stood with his hands behind his back, looking at his son with pride hidden in his eyes. As for his wife, in robes similar to a Warlock's armor, she was clearly happy to see her son and gave a warm motherly smile.

 _"What are you doing on your ass? You're my son, and this is how you honor me?"_ Spectre's father extended a hand for him to hold. Vesper got out of his embrace and Spectre took the offer, getting back up on his feet. Both the Sunbreaker and his father looked at each other in the eye as though they had never met before. However, Spectre acknowledged that this man in heavy armor was indeed his father.

Spectre's mother, after a few seconds, broke up the father-and-son moment and hugged her son tightly. _"I'm glad to see you again, Nero. My darling boy."_

Nero. That name sent a shiver of nostalgia down his spine. No one called him that since he was born. Instead, he had gone under a different name as soon as he was in his mother's arms after he was born. He remembered the times when his mother would call him 'Nero' instead of his name 'Sparda'. Until her death when he would be considered five years old pre-Golden Age-wise. A wave of emotions coursed over him, and he hugged his mother almost immediately.

"How are you two here? I thought you were─"

 _"Executed? Died from an incurable sickness? Respectively, I may add?"_ Spectre's father pined, looking over at his daughter-in-law and granddaughter and nodding. _"I suppose you can thank your wife-to-be for saving our souls from disappearing from this world. If it weren't for her gift, you and her would have never been this way, and your mother and I wouldn't be here."_

 _"Trionus, dear. I think that's enough before you go too deep into your infamous 'trance'."_

 _"Thank you, Lotus,"_ Trionus saw the carved mark on his son's hand, then his earlier scar and his expression turned dark at the drop of a hat. _"Nero, are you just going to let a Guardian corrupted by the Taken King just beat you to submission? I can understand your scar being a result of your hesitation, but the one in your hand?"_

"So? I know I've let you down. Some son I turned out to be."

 _"If it was any of the ones the Cyphers were expecting, then yes, you would've let them down. But not me."_ Nero looked up, and Trionus put a hand on his shoulder, _"You made your own path, and for once, I'm proud of your choice. You didn't want to follow in my footsteps, and I know why. I was a disgrace to us all."_

"I never wanted the position I'm in, father. I wanted to be a normal Guardian, not one that has been exiled because of a simple wrong you caused almost a hundred years ago."

 _"I know that. Your mother told me of how badly you wanted to be a Guardian. But really, you can't run from your bloodline. It's something that will be on your shoulders, dragging you across the dirt until you accept your birthright. Even if it comes with a price."_

"Don't you regret it? Accepting a curse and turning your back on the very gift you were born with and replacing it with that same curse?"

Trionus looked at his son, the wise question burning in both his words and his gaze. Never in Trionus's life has he been asked that question by anyone he knew. Not in a long time, anyway. _"…I do, Nero. Like you, I had to live with a regret like how a man with regrets dies. Not only do they burn in their last moments among the living, but their regrets burn them for eternity. And believe me, that regret is still with me. In the afterlife."_

"But the Cyphers, they─!"

 _"The hell with the Cyphers, for all I care!"_ bellowed Trionus, and Nero remained silent, shutting his mouth. _"Honestly, I hated them. Thinking they can take my rule among our people. A clan that_ you _, as my son, should be ruling as of now after my death! They usurped your rightful place, and for what? Fear that you will destroy our hopes of returning home?!"_

 _"Trionus, that's enough!"_ Lotus quelled her husband's impending anger, an angry black Solar flare enveloping his gauntlet until he released the tension. _"I know how much you hate them for executing you. Nero hates them for forcing him to execute our daughter and granddaughter. Please, be calm…"_

Nero looked up at the featureless white sky, and then back at his arm with the badge of the Crest of Alpha Lupi. "Do I really have what it takes to break free? Free from the bond that chained me down from the moment Lightning and I was born?"

 _"Nero, as much as we know that once we step into our path, there is no coming back. We must press on, no matter what. You have more than enough to forge your own path. Continue on that path, and you won't be stopped. Make the most of it, but never shy away from your heritage. Protect everyone that matters, and if you have to, let go of something to save another. I know it will be hard for someone like you, to let go of something to preserve another. But should it ever rise, just don't regret it all."_

 _"And speaking of life,"_ Vesper interrupted, the white sky warping away and revealing the cell Spectre was in the real world. The door leading to the cell was opened, and in came in the Right Hand. He was slowly striding towards Spectre, as another came into view. It showed Lightning and the _kazoku_ , along with Rez, Silver and Reaper being surrounded by the Taken. _"I can't keep you here much longer. He'll find a way to get in. Even worse, the Taken's advancing on everyone else: Lightning, Cloud, Leon, Aqua, even your Fireteam and your friends. It's only a matter of time until they're vanquished, robbed of their Light."_

 _"Daddy…"_ Rose clung to his leg, horrified at the events unfolding above them. _"I'm scared…"_

As for the Sunbreaker, his fist clenched, his freshly scarred hand bleeding as his nails dug into his wounds. "I won't let it happen…"

Trionus walked next to his son, hands behind his back and looking up at the scenes unfolding. _"Even if it comes with a terrible price? One that could cost your reputation?"_

"I don't care. If Oryx or his forces tries to take my friends and family away from me, I will show no mercy to them all."

As sudden as the wilted flowers revitalized themselves, the flowers yet to bloom rapidly bloomed as well, their original colors changing to black as a result. Not only did those flowers bloom and change color, but Spectre's eyes changed back to the sinister gold color he loathed seeing again.

 _"Nero, honey, are you sure you have the strength to carry out such a mission?"_

"Yes."

 _"Are you saying that you finally accept your bloodline, my son? One that you have been pushing back for so long?"_ his father pined.

"…No, I'm not saying that I accept my heritage, father."

Trionus didn't even flinch when Spectre quickly whipped around and aimed his customized handcannon at him. Lotus wanted to get Nero to put the gun down, but her husband gestured her to stand down. Vesper took Rose in her embrace and turned her away from the scene in case Spectre would put a bullet in his father's skull. The barrel was in his face, and his finger was on the trigger ready to fire. His stolid face only stared in the gun barrel, then back at his son in the eyes. The wind whipped up around the Sunbreaker, his jacket and eye-covering bangs whistling in the wind wildly.

"I'm saying that I can surpass you. In fact, Lightning and I already surpassed you. I will never become you, but I will walk my own path. Away from the one you took. I don't want to repeat what you did long ago."

 _"Even if it means losing everything you've gotten so far?"_

"I'm not going to lose everything," Nero pushed Skyfall closer to his father's face. He never knew his father, but for some reason, it felt _right_ to point a gun at him. Was he…turning into something he feared? Is his bloodline finally getting to him? "I'll make Oryx lose everything. I'll make sure of it. Even if I have to sacrifice myself."

Trionus, at the small speech his son delivered to him, only faintly smiled. _"That will do… Spectre."_ He gestured him to pull the trigger, but it was only now that he saw Spectre's handcannon-holding hand start to quiver. He knew that Spectre would never shoot his own family, Trionus included. _"Why are you hesitating?"_

"Vesper, I need to know… If I shoot my father here and now, will I never see him again?"

Vesper turned as soon as her fiancé asked that question, still covering Rose's eyes if he was planning to shoot his father. _"No. Spectre, the Trionus before you is his regrets that he carried with him when he died manifested in his image. You won't kill your father, but you can put his soul to rest by killing his regrets. Just like me, your father will always be with you. Lotus, Trionus, Rose and I will always be with you."_

Nero lowered Skyfall to his side, looking at the weapon. He opened the cylinder. Only one bullet was left. "Father, if you can hear me now, here's to you being freed from your regrets." He slammed the cylinder back in and pointed the barrel at his father's manifested regrets. "Even though I was born after you were executed by the Cyphers, I know you're not the kind of man to die with regrets. So, forgive me. Because these are your Last Words, not mine."

Nero's mother approved of her son's farewell to his father's regrets, a tear falling as her son will finally free his father from his torment in the afterlife. Spectre turned to face his fiancé, who nodded and smiled all the same as his mother. Soon enough, he redirected his attention to his father's regrets, hand no longer quivering but tight enough to handle the insane recoil one-handed. _Inhale, count to four… Exhale, count to four…_

 _"Daddy!"_ Rose broke free from her mother's hold and ran up to her father, forcing him to remove his finger from the trigger and face his daughter. _"Are you going to say good-bye to us?"_

Spectre knelt down to level with Rose's eyesight, ruffling her hair. "Yeah. I don't belong in this world. I belong with the living. My time's not up yet."

Rose reached for something behind her neck, lifting a small chain up and over her head. Quickly, she presented the chained item in her small hands. A necklace, with a beautiful sapphire colored tear-shaped crystal similar to the rose-shaped crystal he has. _"Here, daddy! I want you to have this, so you won't forget me and mommy!"_

"Rose… Thank you." Nero took the pendant from her hands, putting down Skyfall and hugging her. "I won't forget you and mommy. You two are what matters to me." He kissed Rose tenderly on her forehead before Vesper took her back. Quickly, he picked up Skyfall and returned to where he was, aiming it back at Trionus's face once again.

 _Bang!_

One shot was all it took.

Nero's father recoiled back from the shot to the head, falling into the flowers back-first just as his body succumbed to the shot it took. A pool of blood flowed like a broken dam from his wound to the flowers, staining them red. After accepting that he shot his own father, Spectre lowered Skyfall to his side once more, cocking the hammer and putting it in his holster. The blood from Trionus's corpse soon spread all across the field, coloring all of the flowers red.

 _"Tha…nk you…"_ Trionus managed to give a farewell to his son before fading away like a ghost. _"You made me proud. Don't forget it."_

Following his father's passing was his mother, who only smiled as she started to fade away to let Spectre go back to the world of the living. _"Thank the Traveler that you and your sister was a blessing to your father and I. You give them hell, Nero. I love you, honey, and don't let your enemies stop you."_

 _"Bye, daddy! I'll see you again!"_ Rose waved as she too started to fade to nothing, melting Spectre's cold heart at the innocence his daughter has.

 _"Go out there and make us proud. Remember: we're always with you, no matter where you are."_ Vesper's cloak fluttered about as she faded away, turning around and walking away to join her parents-in-law and daughter.

The white light from the sky had become blocked by the red from the blood-colored field like the sky had turned red, the only one left letting the turn of events in the field occur. An aura from the roots of the flowers started creeping its way towards Nero, hungry in its motion. It consumed him whole, but it didn't bring him back to reality instantly. The Sunbreaker stood stagnant, the black smoke-like mist consuming him and blotting out the red in his jacket and shirt.

His hair changed color, a dirty blonde faded to a darker shade of his current color instantly. He opened his eyes, and no longer was there a steel blue-gray. Instead, the golden eyes he had possessed earlier and in his hallucinations had taken over. For good.

"I am…the son of the Disgraced One, Trionus."

* * *

 _Damned Guardians! How_ dare _they humiliate me!?_ The Right Hand painfully walked towards the unconscious body of Spectre, clutching his side as it bled large amounts of goo. First he was overpowered by that damned Fireteam using only swords and sorcery just as he was about to eliminate Dmitri and his team, then the most pathetic Fireteam in the Tower eliminated an Echo?! His power began to slip from his fingers, and he needed _more_ for his loss. More Light to Take. That Fallen Warlock provided so much Light, but it was completely unsatisfactory to his hunger. Nor did his absorption of a shard of the Echo as it died.

 _Light… I need Light!_ He dared to not go back out there. Even if he managed to retreat, that's not stopping four extremely skilled and powerful Guardians from pursuing him. Hell, they're right outside the door leading to the Hanging Crypts! Thankfully, he was able to prevent them from getting close to their precious Sunbreaker's cell and use the Taken as a barrier and roadblock.

"Bad news, Spectre. It's been fun, but I'm afraid your time is up." He stood before the hanging Sunbreaker, just waking up and breathing. "Your beloved sister and friends are closing in, and I'm going to enjoy making them suffer. I many not have been able to take Dmitri and his friends' Light away, but at least I can Take your friends'." The Right Hand withdrew his hand from his bleeding side, watching as Spectre weakly moved his head. "You've been a nuisance to my Liege, and now it's time to say goodbye." He stretched his hand toward's Spectre's chest, the Taken membrane growing and growling in his palm. Under his corrupted Helm of Inmost Light, he grinned sadistically. With just a simple act, he could end the life of his King's most hated enemy, he could strike fear into the Guardians' hearts; he could─

 _"I will not allow it!"_

His hand stopped mere inches from touching the Sunbreaker, the membrane 'screaming' in agony. His outstretched hand burned like he put his hand in a pool of lava, and he pulled it back the parasite dripping from his fingers like goo. Growling, he looked up at his captive.

Instead of a Titan, he was face to face with his captive's only weakness that took the form of a Huntress, unbeaten and unbruised. She raised her head and looked at the Right Hand straight in the eyes, a fire that was protection and love burning in them.

 _"You foolish Right Hand. You have no idea what you've gotten yourself into now!"_

Amused by this, the Right Hand began to cackle uncontrollably. _So, she appears to me for the first time. Why now of all times…? No matter._ "So, it appears you still have some strength left in you, huh?" he pulled out a corrupted version of Spectre's Raze Lighter, summoning more of the Taken membrane and fusing it to the blade. "Good. _It'll be a pleasure to break you as you die with a last regret!_ " He thrust the sword forward.

However, a sickening _crrraaacck_ rang in the cell, and all his sword stabbed was thin air.

 _What?!_ A tightness wrapped around his neck, and immediately he dropped the sword. His hands clawed at whatever was around his neck, and his gauntleted fingers felt a hard Hive material.

"Why don't you break this?"

 _~Oh can you tell me,_

 _Can you tell me,_

 _The way that this should work~_

The Hive material finally snapped, and a shadow somersaulted over the Right Hand. It landed in front of him, facing away from the Taken King's general. Somehow, the metal-like material didn't kill the Right Hand immediately, since he was still breathing. His teeth grinded against each other, and his breathing became heavy.

"How did you─?! You're _supposed to be dying!_ " Somehow, the Sunbreaker had broken free from the chains, moving like he was never injured at all! Something wasn't right… And the most disgusting bit of it all? The broken bones that were sticking out of his flesh were all pushed out of his body in the most painful way possible. Yet, he didn't flinch or fall at all, his exposed flesh healing at a rapid rate.

"…How disgusting," Nero wiped his mouth with his arm, spitting out something. His tone wasn't like his normal tone, but rather of a Guardian close to either losing their voice or slipping to insanity.

 _~Just who's inside of me?_

 _The monster pulling strings,_

 _I'm broken, lying, helpless, dying,_

 _Surrounded by the world~_

The Right Hand, outraged at what Spectre said, only felt something wet run down the side of his head. He pressed his fingers against it and brought it to his sight. His eyes widened at what was on it. A black substance, the Taken's equivalent of blood. For the first time since he was resurrected by Oryx, he was starting to feel fear. After all this time, he thought he could strike fear in the hearts of many, but now, he was starting to feel quite the opposite.

"What did you do?! You _bit me_!" The question of how Spectre could be able to tear off a chunk of his helmet and bite through resonated in his head. It was impossible for someone to do all of that within a few seconds!

"Yeah, and your Darkness is disgusting. It tastes just like rotten meat."

Nero dodged a tendril of Taken energy that formulated around Samson's arm, leaping up and twisting around to make sure it never hits him. From the air, he fell towards the Taken King's general, ready to kick him square in the face.

 _~And yet, you're smiling bright,_

 _When you don't see a thing~_

Unfortunately, Samson had blocked the attack and caught Nero's leg, grasping it with both hands. "I got you now!" he proceeded to twist it, feeling satisfied by the sound of flesh being popped and twisted. Blood exploded everywhere, landing on both the Right Hand's armor and Spectre's.

"As if." In spite of the pain of having his leg twisted, he went along with it and spun, striking the general in the face with his free leg. The resulting kick sent the general flying towards one of the walls in Spectre's cell, a crater left behind on impact and a heavy dust cloud obscured the area where Samson was.

The Sunbreaker landed on his good leg, using his twisted leg's heel to counterbalance the loss. In an instant, his leg began to twist again, spinning around until his leg was back to normal. For Nero, it was nothing. The years of being under the Cyphers' impossible training made him resist the pain as such. For the average Guardian, the pain of having your leg twisted around like a wet rag would be unworldly. But to Nero? It was only like an itch.

"After all the pain you caused, everything you've done… You think _that_ can hurt me?"

 _~My raptured lungs, and I'm breaking down,_

 _Unraveled, I can't breathe,_

 _The truth I seek never felt so bleak,_

 _I feel it drop degrees,_

 _Freeze~_

The Right Hand emerged from the crater and the smoke screen-like cloud of dust, clearly pissed off. The tendril started going wild as it was latched on to his arm like a leech, and Spectre sensed it. As for the Taken King's general, he removed his broken helmet, revealing a face that looked just like Vesper's on the day she was corrupted, just with the Taken membrane this time. "Kill you…! I'll kill you! I swear it!" the tendril enveloped his entire back, the black and blue color of the Taken adding more to his menacing appearance by forming leg-like tendrils along his back and his arm swallowed by the tendril, becoming more or less of a whip-like extension. "Your Light is mine! I'll tear you to shreds!"

However, Nero only smirked evilly at the empty threat the Right Hand made. As if to further provoke him, he bent his left hand's ring finger with his thumb on top of the middle joint before pressing down on it. A satisfying cracking noise rang out, and he watched the rage build up in the Right Hand. _Does he really think I'm intimidated that easily? Tch, pathetic words for a pathetic man._

"I'll break all of your bones!"

 _I'd like to see you try._

 _~Breakable, unbreakable_

 _Shakable, unshakable_

 _Was shaking up until I found you~_

The Right Hand blindly charged towards Nero, corrupted Raze Lighter back in his possession. Just as he was mere inches away from colliding with the Titan, he swung both his whip-like arm and sword. Spectre moved out of the way like it was a lazily thrown dish, and when Samson kept on swinging his weapons, the Sunbreaker effortlessly danced around the attacks without getting grazed by either one, increasing the rage and frustration further with each blow he evades.

 _Why do I feel so…alive? Am I really enjoying torturing and taunting my enemy because he can't land a damned blow on me?!_ Inside, it felt like a war was raging on inside him. One side was of his dignity and honor as a Titan, and the other was of his bloodline, cruel to the enemy yet satisfying once it was all over. The two sides were in deadlock, canceling out the other's influences and pulling Spectre apart. But it seems to him, his bloodline was already winning.

Eventually, Nero had enough of dodging Samson's attacks and stood in place, provoking the corrupted Guardian to hit him just by standing there. And he fell for it. Samson struck with his whip arm first, then swinging his sword diagonally. Ducking the whip and leaning to the side in succession, Nero took a step forward and struck him in the lower of his ribcage, just above the liver. His fist was no longer infused with Solar energy, but a more powerful force had taken over its place.

The Right Hand started to growl tauntingly at the apparently 'weak' punch Spectre threw at him, laughing since he let his guard down. His tendril arm grabbed Spectre from behind, enveloping him in its grasp before flinging him across the cell like the Sunbreaker was a ball of paper. Karma came back to the Sunbreaker as he was thrown into the wall, what he did to Samson done to him.

 _~I'm standing here watching the world as it falls around me,_

 _You're so close, but I hope that you stop searching,_

 _I don't want you to see what I've become,_

 _A fading no one,_

 _I don't want to hurt you, it's not my nature,_

 _A monster born from dusk to dawn can't be your savior,_

 _I'm falling victim, remember the 'me', the way I used to be~_

The Right Hand breathed heavily after throwing his prisoner against the wall, satisfied yet uncontent. Taking his sword, he reversed his grip on it and threw it in the direction of the Titan. A surge of pain coursed through his chest, tearing up his insides like someone had plunged a knife in it and stabbed repeatedly. _That power…! Just what is it?!_ He grasped the region where Spectre had delivered the punch and looked at his palm. A substance was there, not his blood nor the Taken membrane. It was black as oil, but the texture had the appearance of smoke.

His attention was pulled from his inspection of the substance towards the wall where Spectre was pinned to. Emerging from the dust was said Titan, the sword impaled in his chest yet standing as if it didn't impale him in the first place. Their eyes met, and it was now that Samson saw that his victim's eyes were completely different. Inside them was a raging anger, carving its way into the remains of the Taken Guardian's soul.

"Not too bad…" Nero reached for the hilt of the sword, then violently yanking it out. He was lucky enough that the sword didn't go through his heart, otherwise it would've been all in vain. Although he'll give the Right Hand credit for trying to actually kill him. With the sword out of his chest, he snapped it in two and tossed the halves away. "But I can do better."

He took in the Right Hand's expression and cracked his fingers again, this time with his middle finger. Behind him the shadows started to move, making their way towards him just the same in the field he had seen Vesper again. _Never have I wanted to accept this power… I saw what it did to my people, especially the ones who gave in to it. Lightning accepted hers, so is it time that I do my part?_ He remembered it all: seeing his peers and family all accept their bloodline. Everyone but him. He saw no point in accepting or even using his, so he pushed it away for fifty years now. The mist-like shadows clustered around his back, and what unfolds shocked the Right Hand.

Samson watched as the dark mist suddenly materialize into four shapes, rooting themselves in the Titan's back. All four were black as his armor and the night sky, and they were all shaped like tendrils. At the end of those tendrils were blade-like appendages, razor-sharp from the looks of it. Some of the mist soon enveloped Nero's recently scarred hand, turning it into a clawed form of itself and enveloping his arm up to the elbow, a spike forming on his elbow. Soon enough, it took a draconic appearance, the shadow being an encasing of his real arm. The remaining shadows hovered right behind Nero's back, forming a visible spirit looming over his shoulders in the form of a dragon. It roared, the soundwaves visible as ripples in the air.

 _~The endless pain of solitude,_

 _Wraps tight around my fortitude,_

 _The happy days pierce into me,_

 _These lonely memories cease to care,_

 _Innocently they pierce through~_

The Right Hand roared back at the golden eyed Guardian, and already did Spectre make the first attack. He leapt up above the Right Hand with the help of his tendrils, lunging straight towards him with his draconic hand outreached. The Right Hand blocked the clawed hand with his tendril-wrapped arm, then blocking the barrage of attacks from the upper half of Spectre's tendrils and the rest suspending him mid-air. Roaring angrily, the Right Hand threw a barrage of his own at the suspended Sunbreaker, to which said Titan effortlessly evaded like he did on his feet. Soon enough, the Taken tendrils had somehow cut through the materialized shadows, bringing the Tower's champion down to the ground. But not before the half that was attacking Samson slammed him to the ground.

 _~I can't move,_

 _I can't move,_

 _I can't move,_

 _I can't move,_

 _I can't move_

 _I can't move!_

 _Unraveling the world~_

Nero landed on his feet, his lower tendrils going wild before 'screaming' and started to cause smoke-like shadows to emerge from the cut wounds. Two more of the same tendrils grew in the original's place, sharper and more deadlier and adding up to a total of six of the materialized shadows. Inside, he knew his honor and dignity died out as soon as he became more exposed to his bloodline, leaving the cruelty dominant. It trampled on its 'weak' opponent upon its victory, crushing its chances of living to fight another day and killing it off. Spectre knew he never wanted that part of him to be dominant. It was why he pushed it away, both his heritage and abilities. Not only did everyone he knew before he came to the Tower accept their abilities and separate heritages, but he saw what became of the generation before his own. The last generation, his father included, fell to the void of their abilities' temptation turning even the most honored and dignified into monsters. Monsters that have lost all sight of the right and thirsted for more power.

 _No, once someone submits to that power, they will never come back. All they become are shells of their former selves; gone are their senses of the right thing._

However, Samson quickly got back up and lunged towards the leader of the Ancient Vanguard more enraged than before. He swung wildly with his tendril-wrapped arm and his tendrils behind him started focusing on the six shadow tendrils. Spectre snapped out of his thoughts and ducked and dodged the swung tendrils aimed at him, but the same couldn't be said for his own tendrils. All of them were cut off in a rapid succession, but more 'grew' back from six to ten to fourteen. No matter how many tendrils were cut off, all of them grew more deadlier blades. Within thirty seconds, the number of materialized shadow tendrils multiplied to a grand total of thirty, all of the bladed ends more jagged and hooked for maximum damage. Even Spectre's draconic-like arm started to turn sharper with each tendril cut off, his clawed fingers starting to have jagged edges and hooks at the end.

Eventually, Spectre had enough of dodging his opponent's blows and ducked the instant the giant Taken membrane-turned-tendrils covered arm swung at him. Enclosing his draconic hand, the son of the Disgraced One channeled his bloodline's power into his hand, a black aura much like the black Solar flare in his father's clenched hand and when he took out the Echo back in the Cosmodrome enclosing it and released the tension before clawing his way up.

The Right Hand screamed agonizingly as half of his arm─both his actual arm and the Taken tendril─was torn by Spectre's draconic claw-hand, recoiling in pain as the black blood oozed out in a flood, followed by the tendril spilling itself in a goo-like form. Taking the moment as an opening, Spectre leapt up. All thirty of his tendrils formed as one, their appearance making a wings-like shadow before they all slammed the Right Hand into the ground, leaving a crater with him.

 _~There's something deep inside of me,_

 _Yet everything's changing,_

 _A change was made, I can't break free,_

 _The Darkness and the Light collide,_

 _They fade away before they've begun,_

 _Breakable, unbreakable,_

 _Shakable, unshakable,_

 _These dirty hands know they won't touch you~_

"Who's the pathetic one now?" taunted Trionus's son once the dust settled, his upper left tendrils acting in unison as he commanded them to attack.

Samson let out a cry of pain as the tendrils impaled his good arm, the blades digging into both his armor and flesh corrupted by the Taken. The pain was far beyond what he went through back when he was still a Guardian of the Light, and it was just the same as the Echo's fate: the combination of being disintegrated, burned and shocked alive.

Painfully, he looked back at the Sunbreaker, who had already went to cracking his index finger. He knew Spectre, back when he was under the Vanguard and before his transition to being a hero, was seen as the hotshot that was too powerful for his own good because of his guts and dumb luck. And he knew Spectre's signature habit of cracking his ring to his index fingers. The action alone just screamed out 'time to die'. And that was exactly what the Sunbreaker was saying in his head every time he did his habit.

 _How can this be?! The power I possess, the power to kill all the Traveler's pawns…only to be beaten by a power that doesn't belong to the Light?! How can a Guardian of the Traveler possess such terrible power!?_ His mind screamed, even though he was crying out in pain as of now. "You…can't…be…"

 _~I'm standing here watching the world as it falls around me,_

 _You're so close, but I hope that you stop searching,_

 _I don't want you to see what I've become,_

 _A fading no one,_

 _I'm trapped in this cage the world created,_

 _Held into place by someone crazy shall melt away like dawn to day as thing get hazy_

 _I'm falling faster, remember who I was~_

"One thousand minus seven." Nero uttered, reminding the Right Hand of what he said the moment he started torturing the Sunbreaker. The Taken General glanced back at the Guardian, teeth gritted upon hearing his favored method of torture. His eyes widened in fear, not wanting to acknowledge his defeat despite his face showing it.

"Go…to…hell…!"

"Wrong answer," Spectre sent his lower left half out to attack in unison once more, this time digging into his victim's calf. Grinning evilly upon hearing Samson cry in agony once again, he let the tendrils proceed to torture the Taken General with his own blades. "I'm waiting for an answer, you traitorous piece of shit. What's one thousand minus seven?"

Samson stalled at his response and Spectre impaled another set of jagged and hooked tendrils into his other calf, the other impaled set removed and plunging itself back in the exact same spot. He cried in unworldly agony at the bladed tendrils entering his flesh at the same time. The feeling of having jagged and hooked blades digging in your flesh was the worst imaginable coming from the method of torturing a victim with blades, and Samson was a clear victim to it all.

"I can keep this up all day." Another stalled response, and Spectre sent the remaining set into his dismembered arm, which still had traces of the Taken tendrils enveloping his arm. A heavy stomp to his spine followed immediately after the impalement, and Samson screamed like a pig ready for the slaughter when the tendrils on his back were violently ripped off in a gruesome fashion. He looked back and saw the ghost of a dragon looming behind the Sunbreaker proceed to devour the ripped off tendrils hungrily and ravenously, almost as if it never ate for many thousands of years.

 _~Remember who I once was,_

 _Please don't forget me,_

 _You can't forget me,_

 _You won't forget me,_

 _Please don't forget me~_

"Nine hundred…ninety-three… Nine hundred…eighty-six…" the Right Hand submitted to his situation, giving in to his situation. The ghostly dragon had finished his meal and stared down at the defeated Taken Guardian, then at its master with its own set of golden eyes. "Nine hundred…nine hundred…seventy-nine…!"

Nero looked down at his draconic-like arm, flexing his fingers about until he clenched it into a fist. _So what do you think, Dragunus? Let this filth live, or kill him here and now?_ He just didn't know who he was anymore. The same Spectre that had been driven with grief and still became a hero to the Last City, or what his father became. Yet somehow, he knew this spirit of a dragon. Like they were brothers. His golden eyes never faltered in glowing evilly. And its message? No more does the Light reside in the son of the Disgraced One, for now he accepted power far more powerful than Light with its cost.

 _ **Kill.**_ Dragunus affirmed in Spectre's thoughts, setting the verdict and sentence for their victim.

… _Very well, then. Death it is._

 _~There's no turning back now, I know I'm paralyzed,_

 _I'm trapped inside this paradise, and with this parasite,_

 _I'm falling victim,_

 _Remember who I was, the way I used to be~_

"Nine hundred…seventy…two! Nine hundred…sixty-five," Samson continued to count down while both the blades and pain that the Echo suffered went on and on. A tear shed from his eyes, the pain completely unbearable.

His torture victim-turned-torturer watched on at the pathetic weakling known as the Right Hand, enjoying every _second_ of the agony and suffering. His expression turned from a cruel, sadistic torturer to an expressionless one much like a statue's own. He didn't choose to accept his power, but if he had to live to fight another day, it was the only option left. His Light was mostly gone, but he managed to survive with the power of his father.

"Remember, you were the one who tried to break me first," he reminded, cracking his index finger again, this time bending the rest of the finger into his palm. He then tapped the right side of his head, tilting it towards the side as he cracked his finger for the last time.

"W…what are…you?!" Samson demanded, stopping his counting and looking over his shoulders. He screamed as the tendrils impaled him again, proving his suspicions through the sudden cruelty inside the Vanguard's greatest Titan.

"It's not _what_ you should be concerned about. It's _who_."

"That power… It can't be!"

"Took you this long to figure it out? I'm offended," Nero taunted, the dragon over his shoulders watching Samson writhe and squirm under the pain caused by the bladed tendrils and snarling down at him.

"But he's…! He's _dead_!"

"What a no-brainer, smartass. Because honestly, just because the Disgraced One died almost seventy-three years ago doesn't mean it was impossible for my birth."

 _~Oh, won't you tell,_

 _Oh please, tell me,_

 _Just who's inside of me?~_

At long last, the Hive worm that the Taken General had put in Nero's ear fell out, falling straight into his waiting draconic hand. The Hive work was covered in his blood, moving faintly as though it was on the brink of dying. His ear felt like the Hive worm never entered it at all, and he knew that it was thanks to his powers. And if it could scream, it would've right now as the son of the Disgraced One crushed it in his clawed hand. Hive blood exploded in his hand, away from Nero's face and dripping down his hand onto the Taken General's face.

He already grew bored of looking at the terror in the Taken General's corrupted face, and it was time to deliver the verdict and sentence.

Samson watched as the golden glow in both Spectre and his ghost-like dragon's eyes grow sinisterly brighter, and the shadows from the rest of the cell move like waterfalls towards the Sunbreaker. _Is this… How I'll die again?! By a hotshot of the Tower that weaseled his way to glory? You gotta be kidding me…!_

"So you'll get what's coming to you…"

 _~The monster pulling strings~_

"When I break you instead."

And so ended the life of the general of the Taken forces.

* * *

 **Wow. Just... Wow. Never have I written over at least 5k (excluding chapters 6(?)-7(?) my original** _ **Skyfall 007: Mission Start**_ **. That was a pathetic excuse of a fanfic in my book) in recent times, but cramming all of this in one chapter was my main motivation. Now, I know what you're thinking: 'You can't be serious! You're going to end it here!? Even when we haven't reached the** _ **Enemy of my Enemy**_ **mission in** _ **The Taken King**_ **?!' Who said I was gonna end it here? Besides, you may have to thank The Crimson Commando for covering that mission (indirectly, but whatever). Also, as a homage to most anime shows I've seen, they never go past 12 episodes for one season. It sucks, but whatever.**

 **And trust me, this was just 'season one' (or the first arc of the story if you want it put that way) of my** _ **Destiny: Skyfall**_ **fic. I already have season two planned out to finish up the rest of** _ **The Taken King**_ **, but this is where I have to put it to an end as of now. Because I'm uncertain whether to continue season two/second arc in the same story or make an individual one. By the time I posted this chapter, I already made the poll for you, the reader, to decide where you want me to start for season two. Not only have I made the poll, but I also have a YouTube playlist ready for your listening leisure. Just look at my profile! I think you'll find it quite satisfying, my choice of music for the characters' themes (including 'Writing's on the Wall' as the 'title song' for this fic).**

 **As for my poll, it'll be open until the end of April. So don't worry about the time limit its open! Go ahead and vote! Also, thank you all so much for… *Jaw drops upon seeing the number of views* 2,368 views?! Wow, not even five months and this accumulated this many reads?! Looking at my archives, this puts** _ **Destiny: Skyfall**_ **in second place (behind** _ **Skyfall 007: Mission Start**_ **by 139 views) in views, but clearly tramples over the latter in the number of favorites and follows within five months! Thank you guys so much for all of this!**

 **Unfortunately, this is where we will go our separate ways…for now.**

 **But don't worry.**

 **Spectre, Nero Bianco, Reaper, and the rest of the** _ **kazoku**_ **will be back to fight another day in the next season. For now, it's their time off.**

 **Thanks for reading, and we'll all see you in season two!**


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